Musk’s “Disappointed” Comment
On May 27, 2025, in an interview aired on CBS Sunday Morning, Elon Musk said:
“I was disappointed to see the massive spending bill, frankly, which increases the budget deficit, not just decreases it, and undermines the work that the DOGE team is doing.” CBS News
He added his trademark quip: “I think a bill can be big or it can be beautiful. But I don’t know if it can be both.” CBS News
Narrow House Passage
- H.R. 1, officially titled the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, cleared the House on May 22, 2025 by 215–214, with 1 “present” vote (no Republicans defected to “yea”) and two members absent. Fox NewsReuters
Key Provisions & Deficit Impact
- Extends all 2017 tax cuts permanently, including lower individual rates and the corporate rate cut to 21%.
- Boosts defense and border-security spending, rolls back certain clean-energy and social-program funding.
- CBO estimate: Adds $3.8 trillion to the federal deficit over ten years (FY 2025–2034). CBS NewsReuters
Separate Debt-Ceiling Resolution
- Alongside H.R. 1, the House adopted H. Con. Res. 14 on April 10, 2025, which (via its reconciliation instructions) authorizes committees to include up to a $4 trillion increase in the statutory debt limit. This is a distinct procedural vehicle—not the text of H.R. 1 itself. Congress.govReuters
DOGE’s Claimed Savings Under Scrutiny
- As of April 23, 2025, the DOGE website claimed $160 billion in cumulative savings. Wikipedia
- Independent probes found numerous errors: hundreds of line items later deleted, mis-valued contracts (e.g. $8 million booked as $8 billion), and many “savings” never realized. ReutersReuters
Musk’s Political-Spending Pivot
- 2024 campaign: Musk was the top individual donor to Trump, giving $259 million via America PAC and RBG PAC combined. ReutersFinancial Times
- May 2025: He announced he would substantially dial back future political contributions. Reuters
