House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, a New York Democrat, says he agrees with Elon Musk’s characterization of President Trump’s domestic policy bill as a “disgusting abomination,” torching what he called a “Republican civil war” among GOP lawmakers in an interview with CBS News.
“What Elon Musk said is the stone-cold reality,” Jeffries said in an interview with “CBS Evening News” co-anchor Maurice DuBois of Mr. Trump’s “big, beautiful bill” — which passed the House last month.
“When you try to take away healthcare from more than 15 million Americans, that’s a disgusting abomination,” Jeffries said of the cuts to Medicaid included in the bill. “When you are endeavoring to rip food, literally, out of the mouths of children, veterans and seniors with the largest cut to nutritional assistance in American history, that is a disgusting abomination. And it’s certainly a disgusting abomination, when all of this is being done to provide massive tax breaks to their billionaire donors, and they’re going to stick the American people with the bill and increase the debt by trillions of dollars.”
Musk’s “disgusting abomination” comments came in a post on X Tuesday, calling the bill “outrageous” and “pork-filled.” Musk and Jeffries’ criticisms of the bill differ: Musk has attacked the legislation’s price tag, while Jeffries has criticized its cuts to Medicaid and food stamp spending — though the Democratic leader has also pushed back on its cost.
Musk previously criticized the bill last month, telling “CBS Sunday Morning” correspondent David Pogue he’s “disappointed” by the bill’s cost. His comments are striking because Musk was previously a key ally of President Trump, helping to lead the Trump administration’s effort to reduce the size of the federal government.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Louisiana Republican, has pushed back against Musk, defending the bill and calling his criticisms “flat wrong.”
Musk’s criticisms come as Senate Republicans prepare to take up the domestic policy bill, which extends Mr. Trump’s signature 2017 tax cuts, imposes work requirements on some Medicaid recipients, adds new restrictions to food stamps and boosts border spending. Some senators are pushing for changes — including a few who are skeptical of its changes to Medicaid. Any changes passed by the Senate will also need to be approved by the House.
“What we see right now is a Republican civil war,” Jeffries said. “Elon Musk is attacking the GOP tax scam, this reckless budget that’s going to hurt everyday Americans. House Republicans are attacking Senate Republicans, Senate Republicans are attacking House Republicans.”
See more from the interview with Jeffries on the “CBS Evening News” Thursday.
