Washington — GOP leaders in Congress appeared undeterred Wednesday as Elon Musk ramped up his criticism of President Trump’s “big, beautiful bill” with a barrage of posts slamming the measure, raising questions about whether Republicans can remain united around the centerpiece legislation of Mr. Trump’s second-term agenda.
In a post on X on Tuesday, Musk called the bill “outrageous” and “pork-filled,” arguing that it’s a “a disgusting abomination” and lambasting congressional Republicans for supporting it. The post was only the beginning of a slew of comments from Musk, who called for a new bill to be drafted on Wednesday as the onslaught continued.
“KILL the BILL,” Musk wrote on X Wednesday afternoon.
House Speaker Mike Johnson pushed back on Musk’s criticism Wednesday morning, telling reporters at his weekly press conference that “I think he’s flat wrong.”
Kent Nishimura/Bloomberg via Getty Images 
“I think he’s way off on this,” Johnson said, noting that he considers Musk a “friend” and arguing that “policy differences are not personal.”
The speaker told reporters later Wednesday that “we don’t have time for a brand new bill.” And he said he would continue to try to reach Musk after saying he didn’t answer his call Tuesday. Johnson also noted that he had spoken with the president about Musk’s reaction to the bill, saying Mr. Trump is “not delighted that Elon did a 180 on that.”
Across the Capitol, the Senate is now forging ahead on the legislation, which the House narrowly passed last month. Senate Majority Leader John Thune acknowledged to reporters Wednesday that Musk has “some influence,” citing his social media following, but he downplayed the Tesla CEO’s hold over Republicans in the upper chamber, saying that “at the end of the day, this is a 51-vote exercise here in the Senate.”
“I think we’ll get there,” Thune said. “There are going to be a lot of people who share commentary about this, and we’ve just got to make sure we’re doing everything we can to get our arguments out there.”
Thune told CBS News on Wednesday morning that he hadn’t yet spoken to Mr. Trump about Musk’s criticism of the bill, but that they would have a chance to discuss “what we’re doing to get the bill done” at a White House meeting with Finance Committee Republicans later Wednesday.
The criticism from Musk comes almost six months after he successfully torpedoed a measure to fund the government in December, forcing lawmakers back to the drawing board. But this time around, with Musk having recently departed from his role as a Special Government Employee, the criticism has not had the same effect.
“He certainly doesn’t have the same sway,” Sen. Kevin Cramer, a North Dakota Republican, told CBS News of Musk.
GOP Sen. Markwayne Mullin, who previously represented Oklahoma in the House and has served as a messenger between the two chambers, told reporters “I don’t know if it affects a lot.”
“I have all the respect in the world for Elon, all the respect in the world for him,” Mullin said. “I also love my wife, and every now and then my wife and I disagree. And so sometimes people just have disagreements.”
Senate Republicans were gathered for their conference luncheon on Tuesday when Musk took to X to criticize the bill, prompting a handful of Senate Republicans to quickly voice their agreement, including Sens. Rand Paul of Kentucky and Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, who had already expressed serious concerns that spending cuts don’t go far enough. Other Republicans, like Sen. Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming, voiced understanding for Musk’s views on Wednesday. But she cast doubt on whether the criticism would sway her colleagues.
“I think that those of us who share concerns that there are inadequate reductions in the bill knew that before Elon Musk said that,” Lummis said. “Those who disagree with him disagreed before he said that. So I don’t think it changed any views in the Republican Party in the Senate.”
Senate GOP leadership has already been contending with opposition from the fiscal hawks, along with a handful of other senators who oppose Medicaid restrictions, among other things. Key GOP senators have been conducting meetings in recent days to iron out the disagreement, with opposition from just four Senate Republicans enough to tank the bill.
contributed to this report.
