As the public feud between billionaire Elon Musk and President Donald Trump exploded this week, a political action committee supporting Florida Governor Ron DeSantis stepped forward to defend Musk’s record.
The rift, which has splintered Republican ranks and drawn responses from party leaders, came after Musk sharply criticized the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, Trump’s flagship legislation that seeks to deliver on many of his top priorities.
Newsweek reached out to DeSantis’ office for comment via email on Thursday.
Why It Matters
The feud between Trump and Musk has heightened GOP divisions at a critical legislative moment, with the fate of the spending bill still uncertain as it works its way through Congress.
Musk’s dispute with Trump has also exposed deep policy disagreements within the Republican Party that could have far-reaching implications heading into the 2026 midterms and the 2028 presidential race.
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Rebecca Blackwell/AP
What To Know
The Restore Our Nation (RON) PAC blasted out a fundraising email defending Musk on Thursday afternoon as the billionaire’s spat with the president boiled over.
“Elon Musk took the hits and led the charge on [Department of Government Efficiency] to cut wasteful government spending, and the media made him public enemy #1,” the email said. “Now, Republicans in Congress are fully funding programs like [the U.S. Agency for International Development] and abandoning their promises to make real, long-lasting cuts to the woke left’s spending habits. It’s a betrayal of the voters who put them there.”
Musk has repeatedly criticized the Trump-backed spending bill and said it will undo a lot of the work DOGE did to shrink the size of the federal bureaucracy. On Wednesday, the Tesla CEO, who recently exited the government, called the spending package “outrageous” and “pork-filled,” adding that it’s a “disgusting abomination.”
“Shame on those who voted for it: you know you did wrong. You know it,” he wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
Trump initially avoided directly weighing in on his one-time close ally, though White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters the president “already knows where Elon Musk stood on this bill.”
“It doesn’t change the president’s opinion,” she said. “This is one big, beautiful bill and he’s sticking to it.”
Trump personally waded into the issue after Musk continued lashing out over the bill.
“Elon was ‘wearing thin,’ I asked him to leave, I took away his EV Mandate that forced everyone to buy Electric Cars that nobody else wanted (that he knew for months I was going to do!), and he just went CRAZY!” Trump wrote on Truth Social on Thursday afternoon. “The easiest way to save money in our Budget, Billions and Billions of Dollars, is to terminate Elon’s Governmental Subsidies and Contracts. I was always surprised that Biden didn’t do it!”
“Such an obvious lie,” Musk responded on X. “So sad.”
The SpaceX CEO also said in another post that Trump was “in the [Jeffrey] Epstein files,” referring to a trove of documents the government has on the disgraced convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
“Time to drop the really big bomb: @realDonaldTrump is in the Epstein files,” Musk wrote. “That is the real reason they have not been made public. Have a nice day, DJT!”
Trump, meanwhile, accused Musk of suffering from “Trump derangement syndrome” while addressing reporters after a White House meeting with the German chancellor.
What People Are Saying
Trump said in an Oval Office briefing: “Look, Elon and I had a great relationship, I don’t know if we will anymore.”
Republican Senator John Kennedy of Louisiana said: “Musk is frustrated. I think he believes, and my judgment correctly sees, that we’re quickly becoming debt slaves—that Congress needs to rearm the magical healing power of no, and I agree with it. Having said that, I’m not ready to throw in the towel on this bill.”
Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders wrote on X: “If Musk & his pals are so concerned about increasing the national debt in Trump’s Big Beautiful Bill, why don’t they cut the $664 billion in tax breaks for the 1%; the $420 billion in tax breaks for large profitable corporations; & the $150 billion in increased military spending?”
What Happens Next
The Senate is reviewing and will vote on the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. Trump has given Congress a July 4 deadline to get the bill to his desk.
