Elon Musk‘s broadside against the centerpiece of Donald Trump‘s legislative agenda continued on Wednesday, as the billionaire took to invoking Quentin Tarantino’s Kill Bill to urge lawmakers to reject it.
Despite efforts by House Speaker Mike Johnson to alleviate Musk’s concerns over the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, Musk continued a series of X posts warning that the tax legislation would bankrupt the country.
“Call your Senator, Call your Congressman, Bankrupting America is NOT ok! KILL the BILL,” Musk wrote.
In another post, Musk wrote, “America is in the fast lane to debt slavery.”
He also posted a meme tied to the Tarantino movie.
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Earlier, the Congressional Budget Office released cost estimates of the legislation, concluding that it would add about $2.4 trillion to the deficit over the next decade. The White House has sought to discredit the CBO, but other groups have also presented estimates that conclude that the legislation would expand the U.S. government deficit by trillions of dollars. The Tax Foundation estimated that it would add between $1.7 trillion and $2.6 trillion.
Musk also challenged the White House claim that the legislation would reduce the deficit, just as Russell Vought, the director of the White House Office of Management and Budget, was about to testify before Congress.
Trump has said little about Musk’s tirade against the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. On Wednesday afternoon, he reposted Musk’s comment from last week as he departed his official role as special government employee, responsible for leading the Department of Government Efficiency. The repost appeared to be a reminder to Musk that DOGE will continue.
Musk wrote then, “As my scheduled time as a Special Government Employee comes to an end, I would like to thank President @realdonaldtrump for the opportunity to reduce wasteful spending. The @DOGE mission will only strengthen over time as it becomes a way of life throughout the government.”
The House passed the bill by just one vote last month. The Senate is now considering the legislation and is expected to make changes. If so, it then would have to go back to the House for passage before arriving at the president’s desk. With such slim majorities in the House, any changes made in the Senate risk jeopardizing support from various faction of the GOP.
That was apparent when Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY) warned that he would vote against the legislation if the Senate lowered the state and local tax deductions from $40,000. Lawler and a group of other House Republicans held back their support until the cap was raised from the current $10,000.
Lawler wrote on X, “Let’s be clear — no SALT, no deal. To be clear a cap on SALT is a payfor for other important provisions in the tax bill. For instance part of the reason we are able to increase the standard deduction is because of the cap. If the Senate changes the negotiated number of $40,000 — it will derail final passage of the bill.”
