Elon Musk calls Donald Trump-backed tax bill a ‘disgusting abomination’
Elon Musk has criticised US President Donald Trump’s tax and spending bill, calling it “outrageous” and a “disgusting abomination”.
The bill, which includes multi-trillion-dollar tax breaks, was passed by the House Republicans in May, and has been described by the president as a “big, beautiful bill”.
The tech billionaire hit out at the tax cuts on his platform X, writing: “I’m sorry, but I just can’t stand it anymore.
“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.”
Elon Musk left his ‘special government employee’ role last week. Pic: AP.
In American politics, “pork” is a political metaphor used when government spending is allocated to local projects, usually to benefit politicians’ constituencies.
Musk left the administration abruptly last week after working to cut costs with his team, the newly formed Department of Government Efficiency – known as DOGE – with the ambition of sacking federal workers and cutting red tape.
The White House brushed Musk’s comments aside, claiming they did not surprise the president.
In a press conference on Tuesday, press secretary Karoline Leavitt said that “the president already knows where Elon Musk stood on this bill”.
She added: “This is one, big, beautiful bill.
“And he’s sticking to it.”
The White House on Tuesday asked Congress to cut back $9.4bn in already approved spending, taking money away from DOGE.
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What did Musk achieve at DOGE?
The billionaire tweeted: “It will massively increase the already gigantic budget deficit to $2.5 trillion (!!!!) and burden American citizens with crushingly unsustainable debt.”
He also suggested voting out politicians who advanced the president’s tax bill.
“In November next year, we fire all politicians who betrayed the American people,” Musk wrote in another X post.
How Musk’s mission to cut government spending fell flat
Last Thursday, Musk revealed on X that his scheduled time as a “special government employee” was coming to an end.
Before the news broke, Musk’s father told Sky News his son was “not a very good politician”.
But speaking to Gillian Joseph on The World, Errol Musk insisted there was “no rift between Elon and Donald Trump”.
Musk’s time at DOGE was controversial, with drastic cuts to America’s humanitarian efforts sparking particular criticism.
Questions have also been raised about whether the department has actually saved taxpayers as much money as suggested.
Musk initially had ambitions to slash government spending by $2trn (£1.5trn) – but this was dramatically reduced to $1trn (£750bn) and then to just $150bn (£111bn).
Elon Musk brought his son X Æ A-12 to the Oval Office during a press conference earlier this year. Pic: Reuters.
The 53-year-old, who famously brought his son X Æ A-12 to the Oval Office, also expressed frustration about resistance to his ideas and clashed with other senior members of the Trump administration.
He recently told The Washington Post: “The federal bureaucracy situation is much worse than I realised. I thought there were problems, but it sure is an uphill battle trying to improve things in DC to say the least.”
By law, status as a “special government employee” means he could only serve for a maximum of 130 days, which would have ended around 30 May.
Donald Trump has banned people from 12 countries entering the US, in a move he said protects against “foreign terrorists” and other security threats.
Some countries are subject to a full travel ban, while others are under a partial ban – with the order allowing countries to be removed or added from the list.
The proclamation is due to come into effect just after midnight on 9 June local time.
The ban echoes one in 2017 that Mr Trump implemented in his first term in the White House. This banned citizens from seven predominantly Muslim countries – Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia and Yemen – from travelling to the US.
Here is everything you need to know.
Which countries are affected?
The proclamation bans nationals from the following countries to travel to the US:
• Afghanistan
• Myanmar
• Chad
• Republic of the Congo
• Equatorial Guinea
• Eritrea
• Haiti
• Iran
• Libya
• Somalia
• Sudan
• Yemen.
The following seven countries are affected by a partial ban:
• Burundi
• Cuba
• Laos
• Sierra Leone
• Togo
• Turkmenistan
• Venezuela.
Both bans will affect foreign nationals from the designated countries who are outside the US on 9 June or do not have a valid visa.
Visas issued before 9 June when the law comes into force will remain valid, the proclamation states.
How many people come to the US from these countries?
From October 2023-September 2024 (the fiscal year), the US handed out more than 60,000 permanent visas to the 12 countries on the permanent ban list, according to data from the US Department of State.
The highest by far was to people from Afghanistan – 39,055 – with the most going to nationals who are employed by or on behalf of the US government and their immediate family members.
Under the new proclamation, Afghan nationals who hold special immigrant visas – people who worked most closely with the US government during the two-decade war there – are exempt from the ban.
The figures below do not include people who were given temporary visas.
Are there any exemptions?
Mr Trump said on Thursday that policy was a “key part of preventing major foreign terror attacks on American soil”.
His new list notably leaves out Syria, after Mr Trump met its leader recently on a trip to the Middle East.
Athletes competing in the 2026 World Cup, 2028 Olympics and other major sporting events will also be exempt.
The ban also does not apply to the following individuals:
• Diplomats travelling on valid non-immigration visas
• Immediate family members who hold immigrant visas
• People who have been adopted
• Afghan nationals holding special immigrant visas
• People who hold immigrant visas for ethnic and religious minorities facing “persecution in Iran”
• Dual nationals who have citizenship in countries not included in the travel ban
Why has the ban been introduced?
The proclamation states that America must ensure people entering don’t have “hostile attitudes toward its citizens, culture, government, institutions, or founding principles” – and don’t support terror groups.
In a video posted to social media, Mr Trump said an attack in Colorado, in which eight were injured, had shown “the extreme dangers” of “foreign nationals who are not properly vetted, as well as those who come as temporary visitors and overstay their visas”.
The suspect in the attack is from Egypt, a country that is not on Mr Trump’s restricted list, but homeland security claimed he had overstayed a tourist visa.
The list was put together after the president asked homeland security officials and the director of national intelligence to compile a report on countries whose citizens could pose a threat.
The White House said some of the named countries had a “significant terrorist presence” and accused others of poor screening for dangerous individuals and not accepting deportees.
Critics, however, suggest the move is really designed to further cultivate hostility to immigrants in general, and that the president’s claim it is driven by security concerns is a lie.
What has the reaction been?
International aid groups and refugee resettlement organisations have condemned the new travel ban.
“This policy is not about national security – it is about sowing division and vilifying communities that are seeking safety and opportunity in the United States,” said Abby Maxman, president of Oxfam America.
The inclusion of Afghanistan has also angered some supporters, who have worked to resettle its people. Over a 12-month period to September 2024 there has been an estimated 14,000 arrivals from Afghanistan.
Travel ban protesters at Washington Dulles airport in 2017. Pic: Reuters
Mr Trump suspended refugee resettlement on his first day in office.
Shawn VanDiver, president and board chairman of the organisation #AfghanEvac, labelled the proclamation a “moral disgrace”.
“To include Afghanistan – a nation whose people stood alongside American service members for 20 years – is a moral disgrace,” he said.
“It spits in the face of our allies, our veterans, and every value we claim to uphold.”
Meanwhile, the Iranian government offered no immediate reaction to being included on the list.
What happened in 2017?
Mr Trump’s first travel restrictions in 2017 were criticised by opponents and human rights groups as a “Muslim ban”.
It led to some chaotic scenes, including tourists, students and business travellers prevented from boarding planes – or being held at US airports when they landed.
Listen to The World with Richard Engel and Yalda Hakim every Wednesday
Mr Trump denied it was Islamophobic, despite calling for a ban on Muslims entering America in his first presidential campaign.
The ban faced legal challenges and was modified until the Supreme Court upheld a third version in June 2018, calling it “squarely within the scope of presidential authority”.
President Trump has signed an order banning people from 12 countries from entering the US.
He said Sunday’s attack in Colorado had shown “the extreme dangers” of “foreign nationals who are not properly vetted, as well as those who come as temporary visitors and overstay their visas”.
“We will not allow people to enter our country who wish to do us harm,” the president said.
The countries affected are: Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen.
The White House said some had a “significant terrorist presence” and accused others of poor screening for dangerous individuals, as well as not accepting deported citizens.
People from Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan and Venezuela will face partial restrictions.
Mr Trump’s proclamation said America must ensure people entering don’t have “hostile attitudes toward its citizens, culture, government, institutions, or founding principles” – and don’t support terror groups.
Protests took place when Mr Trump announced his first travel ban in 2017. Pic: Reuters
The move echoes a controversial and chaotic order enacted eight years ago during his first term, when he banned people from predominately Muslim countries.
The countries initially targeted then were Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia and Yemen.
President Trump said on Thursday that policy was a “key part of preventing major foreign terror attacks on American soil”.
His new list notably removes Syria after Mr Trump met the country’s leader recently on a trip to the Middle East.
Athletes competing in the 2026 World Cup and the 2028 Olympics will also be exempt, as will others such as permanent US residents and Afghans with special immigrant visas.
The list was put together after the president asked homeland security officials and the director of national intelligence to compile a report on countries whose citizens could pose a threat.
The ban takes effect from 9 June – but countries could be removed or added.
The proclamation states it will be reviewed within 90 days, and every 180 days after, to decide if it should be “continued, terminated, modified, or supplemented”.
Listen to The World with Richard Engel and Yalda Hakim every Wednesday
President Trump’s first travel restrictions in 2017 were criticised by opponents and human rights groups as a “Muslim ban”.
It led to some chaotic scenes, including tourists, students and business travellers prevented from boarding planes – or held at US airports when they landed.
Mr Trump denied it was Islamophobic despite calling for a ban on Muslims entering America in his first presidential campaign.
It faced legal challenges and was modified until the Supreme Court upheld a third version in June 2018, calling it “squarely within the scope of presidential authority”.
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