Elon Musk left Washington this week to end one of the strangest legends in presidential history.
Not everyone left DC intact with their reputation. But most people manage to do it without bladder control New York Times Exposed.
So the Elon show ended. Washington saw the last gasp on Sunday – the last awkward sitting position between Musk and CBS Sunday morning. While Musk tried to change the terms of the last minute interview and mentioned any mention of politics, he answered questions about Doge and the budget settlement that Donald Trump, Speaker Mike Johnson and most House Republicans recognized.
Musk made it clear in an interview that he had not received a memo from Johnson and other Republicans who wanted their caucus to lie about the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) score, a group of liberals. Meanwhile, conservatives, in their own caucus capacity, the same deficit Hawks that cut nearly $1 trillion in Medicaid-related deficit Hawks continue to cite the CBO methodology as they hammered Johnson and colleagues to cut deficit spending inadequately.
Comments on the budget bill released by Musk during a leadership interviewed by CBS last week sparked a fire in Washington. There is one obvious reason: Musk was shocked in one breath, ruining the entire budget plan, and essentially Johnson became a liar – if you believe Musk, those who no longer have a reason to play well in Washington.
“Frankly, I’m disappointed to see a large spending bill that increases the budget deficit, does not reduce it, and undermines the work the Governor’s team is doing,” Musk told CBS News. Musk acts similar to his eyebrow show at his last press conference with Donald Trump this week – when he seems to have obviously distracted by the room’s golden decoration and stands in a strange way next to the current president.
Elon Musk served as a special government employee with President Donald Trump in the Oval Office. (ScreenGrab/pool)
“I think the bill can be big, it can be pretty,” he continued. “But I don’t know if it can be both. My personal opinion.”
Oops. With that quote, Musk does still suffer in the rest of the interviews aired on Sunday. While his comments were rebroadcast, spokesman Mike Johnson faced a barbecue in NBC’s Media Debrief about the bill and whether it drastically reduced the deficit or even cut it at all.
“I sent my good friend Elon a long text message explaining that it could be big and beautiful,” Johnson claimed. He insisted that although the prospect of the CBO was his own interview, he “didn’t increase debt” in his own interview.
Of course, the guy who takes the motto “moving quickly and destroying things” to Washington will read that text.
Regardless of how a specific conversation occurs, it can cause damage. Johnson’s problem is simple: his own core group does not believe that his insistence on “Big and Beautiful Bill” is inneutral. Why do you want others?
Johnson hopes it’s as simple as convinceing Americans (and the media) that the Democrats are the only ones who oppose his deficit math. In fact, Washington’s most determined Debt Eagles (all conservatives) are in the same camp.
If proof is needed, they can simply ask Chip Roy, one of the leaders of the Debt Eagles. Roy explained in his final statement to the bill passed in May that he voted for a bill that cuts the deficit, but even if he did not develop further for the bill.
“The good news is that the bill is technically true to the framework, by reducing the deficit in the budget window of the 10-year budget,” Roy said. “It is important that it can achieve this by cutting $1.5 trillion in spending over 10 years, thereby reforming Medicaid and proceeding with job requirements.”
It should be obvious, but it should be clear: “Reduce the deficit and reduce” does not mean a deficit-neutral budget. According to CBO and other analysts, “a big and beautiful bill” is still expected to increase the deficit by nearly $4 trillion after these cuts.
Musk’s such a deputy comment would not make his life any more difficult. He returned to Tesla and now has dropped with profits directly related to his political activism. By doing so, he quits a strange stage: Washington, where public perception is important and can be changed on a dime.
Musk emerged with dark eyes at his final press conference under a series of drug abuse charges (Getty Images)
However, this will make it more difficult for Johnson and Senate Republican leadership, which will now oversee the bill’s fate next month. Republicans are already talking about changing the bill, including splitting “one” big bill into several. Those Senate Republicans received more ammunition on Sunday to defy the White House and Johnson.
One of the Republicans is Ron Johnson, who, like his conservative allies in the House, has been one of the most voiced spending regulators in Congress. Even before Musk’s latest comments, Johnson was openly preparing to push the White House price to exceed the bill’s price tag. After Sunday, the combination of Musk’s interview and poor hair in the Senate could give him all the political cover he needs.
Johnson tweeted on Twitter before the bill passed: “Republican leaders repeatedly said, ‘We have no income issues, we have a spending issue.’ “Now, it seems they are reluctant to fix it. ”
He warned: “I’m going to insist on doing this.”
