The richest man in the world began his feud with the most powerful man in the world right in the middle of the news cycle. Elon Musk called the One Big Beautiful Bill, the vehicle for President Trump’s sprawling policy agenda, a “disgusting abomination.”
“The president already knows where Elon Musk stood on this bill,” replied White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt. “It doesn’t change the president’s opinion.”
It could, however, change the timing.
When he broke ranks with the president, Musk gave conservative critics of the bill a bit more breathing room on Capitol Hill by interrupting the regular White House drumbeat to pass the legislation as soon as possible. “It is an invitation to lock-in even harder,” one senior Senate aide told RealClearPolitics. “Nobody can control him,” the aide added of Musk. “I don’t even think Trump can.”
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