said Sunday that Elon Musk’s online blowup against President Trump and his signature big, beautiful bill was disappointing but brushed off questions about the impact of the billionaire’s criticism.
Why it matters: Musk’s grievances against the president’s signature tax-and-spending package have been echoed by some GOP fiscal hawks on Capitol Hill.
Senators last week strategized with Trump and other administration officials on how to cut spending further than the House-passed legislation did.
“I’d had a lot of great interaction, discussion with him about the one big, beautiful bill to make sure he had accurate information because I was concerned that people were telling him things that just simply weren’t true.”
“That we get the one big, beautiful bill done and then hopefully these two titans can reconcile.”
Mike Johnson (R-La) is the speaker of the House. expressed disappointment on Sunday about Elon Musk’s online tirade against President Trump and his signature large, attractive bill, but dismissed concerns about the billionaire’s criticism’s potential effects.
Why it counts: Some GOP fiscal hawks on Capitol Hill have echoed Musk’s complaints about the president’s signature tax and spending package.
Together with Trump and other administration officials, senators last week devised a plan to reduce spending even more than the House-passed legislation did.
Leading the news: Johnson claimed on ABC’s “This Week” that he hasn’t had a phone conversation with Musk since Monday of last week, just before the Trump-Musk alliance blew up in the public eye on Thursday.
“We were disappointed, surprised,” Johnson remarked. “I was worried that people were telling him things that were just plain untrue, so I had a lot of wonderful conversations with him about the one large, gorgeous bill to make sure he had correct information. “,”.
Musk denied Trump’s assertion that he understood the inner workings of the bill in a post on Thursday, saying he never saw it.
Johnson told ABC’s Jon Karl that Musk had texted him to say that the legislation’s spending was his main worry.
Musk has urged his 220 million followers to call their representatives about the bill, but he added that there have been “almost no calls” to the offices of GOP lawmakers.
“I didn’t go out to craft a piece of legislation to please the richest man in the world,” Johnson stated. Our goal is to assist hardworking Americans who are attempting to support their families and make ends meet. “,”.
Regarding Trump’s threat to sever Musk’s government contracts, Johnson chose not to provide further details.
“My goal is to ensure that everything is settled as soon as possible,” he stated. “Hopefully, these two titans can make amends after we finish the one large, lovely bill. “,”.
Zoom out: However, Trump stated he had no intention of repairing his relationship with Musk after the explosive falling out in a phone interview with Kristen Welker of NBC News.
NBC reported on Saturday that Trump warned of “serious consequences” if Musk began to finance Democratic candidates.
Sen. Lankford, James (R-Okla. “We have a lot of social media drama going on between two of the most active social media individuals in the world .,” he said in response to a question about Trump’s remark during Sunday’s “Meet the Press” on NBC. on and off about that. And I am aware that many people are concentrating on that. “.
Point of friction: White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt stated on Fox News’ “Sunday Morning Futures” that she doesn’t think Trump plans to speak to Musk again after the altercation.
“We were all hoping for the best for Elon,” she stated. “And it’s regrettable, in my opinion, that he is criticizing this bill, which he vigorously supported by all accounts, now that he has returned to his businesses. “.
Investigate further: Trump has power, but Musk has money.
Karoline Leavitt’s comments have been incorporated into this story.
