Musk burns MAGA bridges as Republicans back Trump in brawl

Some politicians hold out hope for reconciliation after painful divorce

Elon Musk, and Donald Trump on the campaign trail last year. Picture: AP /Alex Brandon

Representative Troy Nehls (Republican, Texas), a vocal President Trump defender, stared into television cameras that circled him outside the Capitol steps and addressed Elon Musk: “You’ve lost your damn mind.”

“Enough is enough. Stop this,” he said.

Several hours of public fighting between Musk and Trump—triggered by criticism of Trump’s tax and spending bill—was quickly turning the billionaire megadonor from a revered MAGA figure to outright outcast among Republican lawmakers. The brawl, playing out on television and social media, risked derailing Musk’s push to persuade Republicans to overhaul their signature legislation, which he painted as a budget-busting abomination.

As the fight heated up, Musk claimed credit for Trump’s 2024 win and agreed with a social-media message saying Trump should be removed from office. The president threatened to revoke Musk’s government contracts and wondered if Musk suffered from “Trump derangement syndrome.”

In the battle between the Republican titans, most GOP lawmakers sided with Trump. Rep. Tim Burchett (Republican, Tennessee) said Musk is “going off the deep end” with his call for Trump’s impeachment and suggested Musk is losing his sway with the MAGA crowd. On whether Musk has power on the Hill anymore, Burchett replied: “You know, he’s got a huge checkbook, obviously, and this town is gutless.”

House Majority Leader Steve Scalise. Picture: AP

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson. Picture: AP

Many Republicans have defended the GOP megabill, which passed the House last month by one vote and is now being worked on by the Senate. Backers argue that the tax cuts, border money and spending cuts make it a good package they can support, even if they concede it isn’t perfect. Musk’s attacks had raised the possibility that conservatives could extract more cuts from such programs as Medicaid, but that new push appeared to stall as Musk’s fight with Trump stretched deeper into Thursday.

“He hasn’t moved a vote,” House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (Republican, Louisiana) said of Musk.

White House aides argued Musk’s broadsides would weaken the position of Republican critics of the megabill, who had initially viewed the billionaire’s spotlight on deficits as helpful to their cause.

Sen. Jim Banks (Republican, Indiana.) characterized Trump as “taking the high ground” in the argument with Musk, saying the president is focused on passing the tax bill. In comments on CNN, he credited Musk for his cost-cutting work and said he believes the Senate could address some of his concerns about deficits generated by the House bill by finding further savings.

Elon Musk looks on during a Cabinet Meeting in March. Picture: AFP

House Speaker Mike Johnson (Republican, Louisiana) said he has been trying to change Musk’s mind on the legislation, texting him information after Musk didn’t return his phone calls. Johnson called Musk a friend, but rejected Musk’s claim that he should get credit for 2024 election wins by Trump and Republicans.

“I don’t think any one person deserves credit, but if there is one person, that’s Donald J. Trump,” Johnson said.

While many Republicans backed Trump in the breakup, Musk still has his fans. The billionaire received public support from the two House Republicans who voted against the bill last month: Reps. Thomas Massie (Republican, Kentucky) and Warren Davidson (Republican, Ohio).

“I trust the math from the guy that lands rockets backwards over the politicians’ math,” said Massie.

Rep. David Schweikert, an Arizona Republican seen as vulnerable in the midterm elections next year, said on the debt: “Musk is absolutely right.”

Some lawmakers likened the Trump-Musk feud to a painful divorce.

Rep. Aaron Bean (Republican, Florida), chairman of the DOGE caucus in the House, said that his “heart aches” over the dispute, and that lawmakers remained committed to the Department of Government Efficiency effort despite the crackup. “You see two friends fighting, and it’s sad that it escalated so quickly,” he said.

Bean said he hoped they could patch things up. “Maybe they can share a Diet Coke together.”

The implosion of the relationship comes after weeks of simmering tensions, including Musk being miffed by the president’s decision to withdraw a key ally of his to lead the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Jared Isaacman. Musk had also raised concerns about provisions in the legislation that repeal tax credits for electric vehicles, according to people familiar with the matter, which would have affected Musk’s car company, Tesla.

Musk, on X, denied that the EV mandate facilitated his decision to criticize the bill, which he called “abhorrent,” arguing it would drive the US further into debt.

The Congressional Budget Office, a nonpartisan body that provides budget and economic impact scores of bills to Congress, predicts the House GOP’s tax bill would cut taxes by $3.7 trillion but raise the deficit by $2.4 trillion over the next decade.

Some lawmakers said they weren’t surprised by the breakup.

“When you get two strong personalities, it’s bound to happen,” said Rep. Ralph Norman (Republican, South Carolina), who called it “sad for the country,” given what Musk did with DOGE. “No one else had the bandwidth to do what he’s done, to identify what he’s done.”

Wall Street Journal