House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) fired back at Elon Musk after the billionaire torched Donald Trump’s new budget plan, calling it a “disgusting abomination.”
Musk, who had recently stepped down from a government advisory role, didn’t hold back. “This massive, outrageous, pork-filled Congressional spending bill is a disgusting abomination. Shame on those who voted for it: you know you did wrong. You know it,” Musk wrote on X.
That comment didn’t sit well with Johnson, who sees Musk as a personal friend. Speaking to reporters Tuesday, Johnson said, “It’s very disappointing, okay? I’ve come to consider Elon a good friend.”
Johnson continued, “He’s obviously a very intelligent person and he’s done a lot of great work. We’ve applauded all the work that he’s done with DOGE where he identified fraud, waste, and abuse in the government. It’s a very important service that’s been performed.”
Johnson claimed the administration is now “codifying” the fraud Musk’s team exposed through DOGE, a government project Musk had been involved with.
But Musk wasn’t buying the pitch. He’s angry that Congress passed Trump’s massive spending plan, which barely squeaked through the House by one vote. The bill, now headed to the Senate, is drawing fire from both sides of the aisle. Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) slammed it too, calling the cost-cutting “anemic” and refusing to back a deal that hikes the debt ceiling.
Johnson tried to defend the bill, echoing claims from the White House that it will save $1.6 trillion. He also said Republicans are pushing for an extension of the 2017 tax cuts.
When CNN’s Manu Raju asked Johnson about Musk’s comments, the Speaker responded bluntly: “With all due respect, my friend Elon is terribly wrong about the one Big Beautiful Bill.”
Johnson revealed he had a 20-minute phone call with Musk to talk things over. “He and I spoke for I think more than 20 minutes on the telephone and I extolled the virtues of the bill. He seemed to understand that. We had a very friendly conversation about it,” he said.
He suggested Musk’s frustration might stem from the bill eliminating an electric vehicle mandate — something critical to Musk’s business.
“It’s not personal. I know the EV mandate is very important to him,” Johnson said. “That is going away because the government should not be subsidizing these things.”
Watch the clip below via Fox News.
New — Speaker Johnson fires back at Elon Musk after he called the House bill “a disgusting abomination” filled with “pork” that would lead to crushing debt.
“It’s very disappointing… My friend Elon is terribly wrong,” Johnson says, noting they spoke at length yesterday. pic.twitter.com/Bh6IbEstaL
— Manu Raju (@mkraju) June 3, 2025
