Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., is rebuffing Elon Musk’s call for a brand-new budget reconciliation bill, deepening the tech billionaire’s rift with Republicans in Washington.
“A new spending bill should be drafted that doesn’t massively grow the deficit and increase the debt ceiling by 5 TRILLION DOLLARS,” Musk wrote Wednesday on X.
He ratcheted up his rhetoric shortly after, posting, “KILL the BILL.”
But Johnson said the timeline was working against Congress and that an overhaul of President Donald Trump’s massive agenda bill was unfeasible.
HOUSE GOP TARGETS ANOTHER DEM OFFICIAL ACCUSED OF BLOCKING ICE AMID DELANEY HALL FALLOUT
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., left, and Elon Musk are divided over President Donald Trump’s agenda bill. (Getty Images)
Johnson said when asked for a response by Fox News, “We don’t have time for a brand-new bill.”
“I want Elon and all my friends to recognize the complexity of what we’ve accomplished here. This extraordinary piece of legislation — record number of savings, record tax cuts for the American people and all the other benefits in it,” the speaker told reporters.
Johnson said he was “surprised” by Musk’s criticism of the “big, beautiful bill.” (Associated Press)
“We worked on the bill for almost 14 months. You can’t go back to the drawing board, and we shouldn’t. We have a great product to deliver here.”
Johnson cautioned critics of the bill not to let the perfect be the enemy of the good.
MIKE JOHNSON, DONALD TRUMP GET ‘BIG, ‘BEAUTIFUL’ WIN AS BUDGET PASSES HOUSE
Musk wants lawmakers to “kill” Trump’s bill. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
“We’re proud of this product. The House Republicans are proud of it, and we’re happy to go out and explain that to everybody,” Johnson said.
The Louisiana Republican said during a press conference earlier that he was “surprised” by Musk’s criticism.
The speaker previously also pointed out that Republicans are planning to codify spending cuts identified by Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) in a different vehicle than the reconciliation process.
Musk has been bearing down hard on the legislation, putting Republican lawmakers in a difficult spot after months of lauding his work with DOGE.
The massive bill passed by the House and currently being considered by the Senate advances Trump’s priorities on taxes, immigration, energy, defense and the debt limit.
It passed the House 215–214, with all but three House Republicans not voting “yes.”
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
House GOP leaders, noting their slim margins, have urged the Senate to change as little as possible in the bill. But the Senate GOP has its own razor-thin majority, and lawmakers there have already signaled they want to see at least some changes.
The White House, meanwhile, has stood by the bill.
“The president already knows where Elon Musk stood on this bill. It doesn’t change the president’s opinion. This is one big, beautiful bill, and he’s sticking to it,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Tuesday.
You might have noticed that in the past few months, many companies have disclosed data…
Apple has officially launched iOS 26, and with it comes a fresh look and one…
Road crews may soon get a major assist from artificial intelligence. Researchers at Germany's Fraunhofer…
The holidays are supposed to be a season of generosity, family and giving back. For…
DENVER – Scams targeting older Americans are surging, and federal officials are warning that the…
Artificial intelligence can do a lot for us. Need to draft an email? AI has…