Musk attacks underscores pent-up tensions with White House
Elon Musk’s harsh criticism of the White House’s signature policy bill is laying barethe tensions between the world’s richest man and the administration where he worked over the last four months.
Privately, Musk rubbed a number of senior officials the wrong way during his time in government, and his complaints about a key legislative goal may further agitate his critics in the administration.
Multiple sources close to the administration told The Hill that Musk frequently clashed with Cabinet secretaries and other senior officials who viewed him as overstepping his role leading the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
The Tesla CEO — who spent millions of dollars to help Trump get elected and whose 130-day window as a special government employee ended last Friday — sparred with Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Treasury Department Secretary Scott Bessent and Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy at various points throughout his tenure.
He also publicly bickered with senior trade adviser Peter Navarro, calling him a “moron” after Navarro weighed in on Tesla’s assembly process for its electric vehicles.
The latest instance came over the weekend, when Trump withdrew the nomination of Musk ally Jared Isaacman to serve as NASA administrator.
Musk had pushed for Isaacman’s nomination, and the nominee had already advanced through the Senate Commerce Committee. But within hours of Musk’s departure from the government, Trump pulled the pick, citing “a thorough review of prior associations.”
But the break that threatens to irk Trump the most and could undermine his agenda is Musk’s frustrations with the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which passed the House last month and must now clear the Senate.
Musk exited the administration after an Oval Office press event with Trump on Friday and has since ratcheted up his criticism of Trump’s bill.
By Wednesday afternoon, Musk was urging lawmakers to “kill the bill.”
A day earlier, he railed against the legislation in a post on the social platform X, which he owns, calling the megabill “an abomination” and “pork-filled” due to its effects on federal deficits.
The Hill’s Brett Samuels has more in a full report at TheHill.com.
Welcome to The Hill’s Technology newsletter, we’re Miranda Nazzaro and Julia Shapero — tracking the latest moves from Capitol Hill to Silicon Valley.
The aerospace community was caught off guard this week by President Trump’s withdrawal of tech entrepreneur Jared Isaacman’s NASA nomination. Announced days before the Senate’s likely confirmation of Isaacman, the withdrawal sparked a swirl of rumors and concerns, as budget cuts loom and NASA stretches into its sixth month without a leader. Trump, in a social media post over the weekend, offered few …
(NewsNation) — The mayor of Memphis, Tenn., believes Elon Musk‘s xAI supercomputer facility will help “a community that is desperately in need of investment,” though some residents say otherwise. The project will occupy an empty Electrolux factory located on the city’s south side. It runs gas turbines, which release chemicals like formaldehyde and nitrogen oxides, in the process of powering his AI chatbot, …
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) raised concerns Wednesday about whether Elon Musk’s social platform X is violating sanctions by reportedly allowing members of terrorist organizations to obtain “blue checks.” In a letter to Treasury Department Secretary Scott Bessent and national security adviser Marco Rubio, Warren pointed to a recent report finding that sanctioned individuals from al Qaeda, Hezbollah and the Houthis had been …
The Trump administration notified California officials Wednesday that federal funding for the state’s massive high-speed rail project is at risk of being pulled after a four-month review concluded the California High-Speed Rail Authority (CHSRA) has “no viable path” to complete the project on time or on budget. “CHSRA is on notice — If they can’t deliver on their end of the deal, it could soon be time …
Crypto Corner is a daily feature focused on digital currency and its outlook in Washington.
Truth Social is one step closer to offering a new crypto-related asset.
The New York Stock Exchange’s electronic arm, Arca, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Tuesday to list and trade shares of a Truth Social Bitcoin exchange traded fund (ETF).
A Bitcoin ETF tracks the price of Bitcoin without requiring traders to invest directly in the sometimes volatile cryptocurrency.
Trump Media and Technology Group, Truth Social’s parent company, previously announced plans to launch a series of ETFs as part of a partnership with Crypto.com.
The company also unveiled a deal last week to raise $2.5 billion to create a bitcoin reserve, with some 50 investors buying $1.5 billion in Trump Media stock and $1 billion in company notes to fund the effort.
The latest moves by Truth Social and its parent firm come amid a wider push by President Trump and his family’s various businesses to expand their footprint in the crypto space.
Last fall, Trump and his sons launched a crypto venture, World Liberty Financial, which is now offering a stablecoin. The token was used to conduct a high-profile $2 billion transaction between an Emirati firm and crypto exchange Binance.
The president separately launched a meme coin shortly before he took office. He attended a dinner with the investors in the $TRUMP token last month.
In Other News
Branch out with other reads on The Hill:
Warren asks if X violating sanctions with ‘blue checks’
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) raised concerns Wednesday about whether Elon Musk’s social platform X is violating sanctions by reportedly allowing members of terrorist organizations to obtain “blue checks.” In a letter to Treasury Department Secretary Scott Bessent and national security adviser Marco Rubio, Warren pointed to a recent report finding that sanctioned individuals from al Qaeda, Hezbollah and the Houthis had been …
President Trump doubled down Wednesday on calls to scrap the nation’s debt ceiling, pressing for bipartisan action to abolish it and finding common … Read more
Moderate House Republicans from high-tax blue states are warning senators that they will not give the “big, beautiful bill” a final stamp of approval … Read more
