CAPITOL HILL – President Trump’s so-called “Big Beautiful Bill” is heading to the Senate after narrowly passing the House. But a White House ally is capturing headlines surrounding the huge measure after becoming an outspoken opponent.
Elon Musk, fresh from his exit at the Trump administration’s Department of Government Efficiency, called the bill “a massive, outrageous, pork-filled congressional spending bill” and “a disgusting abomination.”
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The sweeping plan is now in the Senate’s hands for the reconciliation process, which would allow Republicans to pass legislation with a simple majority. Still, Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) can only afford to lose three votes.
As a handful of Senate Republicans are signaling changes for the House-passed mega bill, Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) is encouraging his colleagues to be careful.
“This is the biggest spending cut I think in the history of government on planet Earth. Is it enough?” Johnson asked during an interview with Fox News. “No, but we have a very delicate balance, and we have to start the process.”
Its core components include permanently extending Trump’s 2017 tax cuts, increasing military spending, and allocating $50 billion toward southern border wall construction. It would also remove taxes on tips and overtime pay while increasing child tax credits from $2,000 to $2,500.
“Some senators, Senator Hawley out of Missouri, would like to see that much higher,” said Dr. Jared Pincin, an associate economics professor at Cedarville University, who sees part of this bill representing growth.
“We were coming into next year with what would have been the largest tax increase in U.S. history if Congress had done nothing,” said Pincin.
Meanwhile, the Congressional Budget Office estimates the national debt will grow by $3.8 trillion over the next decade, and the calculations just don’t add up for fiscal hawks like Senators Ron Johnson (R-WI) and Rand Paul (R-KY).
“I just can’t support something that actually increases the deficit,” said Johnson.
“I’ve told them if they strip out the debt ceiling, I’ll consider, even with the imperfections, voting for the rest of the bill,” said Paul.
Still, with virtually no support from Democrats, and to keep spending cuts, Dr. Pincin says higher debt is necessary for Republicans to move the bill ahead.
Meanwhile, Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) recently defended the bill’s cuts to Medicaid and food assistance. And Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) agrees with considering Medicaid cuts, which could leave an estimated eight million Americans without coverage.
As for next steps, Senate Republicans will meet tomorrow. But Pincin notes that the Senate “can’t do anything dramatically different than what the House did,” because then it would push the timeline out.
Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso (R-WY) told reporters today that each Republican will be here in force at tomorrow’s conference. They’re expected to quiz committee chairs about their input on forthcoming pieces of the mega bill. Plus, they’ll cover unresolved issues, like the national debt ceiling and Medicaid cuts.
While there could be a few more weeks of negotiations, Congress faces a tough deadline to get this on President Trump’s desk by July 4th.
