House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., defended the reconciliation bill recently passed by the House amid criticisms from Elon Musk.
In an interview Thursday, Johnson said he reached out to his "good friend Elon" after Musk bashed the bill in an interview with CBS News.
"I sent my good friend Elon a long text message explaining it can be big and beautiful," Johnson said on Fox News.
The tech CEO told CBS News the spending in the reconciliation bill contradicts DOGE.
"I was disappointed to see the massive spending bill, frankly, which increases the deficit, not just decreases it, and undermines the work that the DOGE team is doing," Musk said in an interview set to air Sunday, June 1. "I think a bill can be big, or it can be beautiful — but I don't know if it can be both, in my personal opinion."
Musk recently announced he was leaving his government role as a top adviser to President Donald Trump after spearheading efforts to reduce and overhaul the federal bureaucracy.
The billionaire entrepreneur posted Wednesday about his decision on X, his social media website.
"As my scheduled time as a Special Government Employee comes to an end, I would like to thank President @realDonaldTrump for the opportunity to reduce wasteful spending," he wrote. "The @DOGE mission will only strengthen over time as it becomes a way of life throughout the government."
Johnson has argued the economic growth that will be achieved from passing the bill will counteract any concerns about the rising deficit.
"We believe we're gonna get the economy going and this is going to be deficit reducing at the end of the day," Johnson said. "It matters how you do the math."
The House speaker praised Musk for the work he did with DOGE and helping to end waste, fraud, and abuse in government.
"Elon's exactly right, the DOGE effort will go on long before his tenure as a temporary assistant in all this because it's changing the way people look at this," Johnson said.
Sam Barron ✉
Sam Barron has almost two decades of experience covering a wide range of topics including politics, crime and business.
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