Elon Musk last week ignited controversy by denouncing the Big Beautiful Bill (BBB) as a “disgusting abomination” — and then Musk’s decrees deteriorated into a personal feud with President Trump playing out in real time on social media.

As the president’s former pick to lead the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), Musk was tasked with identifying and cutting wasteful federal spending. And from a fiscal perspective, he’s absolutely right: America is spending itself into a crisis, and the BBB does little to stop it.

Musk’s frustration stems from hard numbers. In 2019, the federal government spent $4.45 trillion. Today, annual authorized spending could exceed $7 trillion. This explosion in spending isn’t matched by revenue, even though total tax revenue has increased nearly every year.

The result? Massive and growing annual deficits, adding to an already staggering $36 trillion national debt. Musk understands that this trend is unsustainable. If not corrected, it could eventually bankrupt the nation.

When Trump appointed Musk to head DOGE, the mission was clear: stop the bleeding. Musk assembled a team of top-tier analysts and technologists who launched a comprehensive review of federal expenditures.

Armed with the latest software and rigorous investigative methods, they uncovered what many suspected, but few could prove—hundreds of billions of dollars wasted each year on duplicative programs, inefficient agencies, and outright fraud.

The team found savings everywhere. From bloated contracts to entitlement programs riddled with abuse, DOGE’s report painted a sobering picture of government waste. One key area was Medicaid, where the team discovered millions of people enrolled fraudulently or receiving benefits improperly. By making the program more efficient and enforcing eligibility requirements, the government could save billions.

Musk believed that with such compelling data, Congress would leap at the chance to enact meaningful cuts. He was wrong.

What Musk failed to fully grasp is that Washington doesn’t operate on logic and spreadsheets—it runs on politics. Every spending cut has a political cost. When DOGE proposed the Medicaid reforms, many in Congress pushed back hard.

Though the reforms targeted fraud and abuse, they were painted as “cuts to the vulnerable.” Opponents claimed up to 10 million people could lose their benefits. That was enough to scare lawmakers away.

This is the political reality: every dollar of government spending supports someone’s interest. And when those interests are threatened, members of Congress listen—to donors, activists, and most importantly, voters. No matter how justified the cuts may be, legislators aren’t eager to vote for something that could be weaponized in the next campaign cycle.

Musk, unburdened by political ambition, called it like he saw it. And fiscally, he’s right. The BBB just scratches the surface of the federal government’s overspending problem. If the DOGE team found hundreds of billions in savings, why didn’t Congress act on it?

The answer lies in the messy nature of democracy. Passing a budget requires compromise. It needs majorities in both chambers. Getting there means negotiating with lawmakers who all have different priorities, constituencies, and re-election concerns.

President Trump understands this. His goal remains consistent: low taxes, strong growth, and a gradual return to fiscal sanity. He knows tax hikes are not the answer, and that increasing growth is the real solution to rising debt.

He also understands that while deep spending cuts are desirable, they’re politically difficult.

So, while Musk was right to sound the alarm, Trump’s approach reflects political wisdom. The BBB may not eliminate the deficit or balance the budget overnight, but it does slow the growth of spending. It’s a first step—imperfect, but necessary.

As President Reagan famously said, “Half a loaf of bread is better than none.” This bill isn’t the final answer, but it’s progress. And in Washington, progress often comes in inches, not miles.

Musk should be applauded for highlighting the urgent need for fiscal responsibility. But Trump, seasoned by political battle, knows the path to reform is long—and that winning it requires persistence, patience, and the ability to take the best deal you can get today while working toward a better one tomorrow.

In the end, fiscal reform must be rooted in both principle and political realism.

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Michael Busler is a public policy analyst and a professor of finance at Stockton University in Galloway, New Jersey, where he teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in finance and economics. He has written op-ed columns in major newspapers for more than 35 years.