Elon Musk isn’t very pleased with the “big, beautiful” budget the House passed before leaving town at the end of last week. He’s admitted to being disappointed with the legislation and has warned that it would harm critical subsidies for electric vehicles and solar projects. He’s also called it antithetical to the DOGE mission he has spearheaded at the behest of Donald Trump.
In all, it’s created a completely unexpected—and frankly, almost unthinkable—specter: the Republican party’s top donor, the president’s once-top adviser, publicly ragging on the biggest piece of legislation that the administration and its allies have attempted to push during their time in office.
Few opportunities like this have ever existed for an opposition party. And yet, in the 48 hours since Musk let his dissatisfaction be known, Democrats don’t appear to be doing much at all to capitalize on it.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries hasn’t posted on X, Facebook, or Instagram about Musk’s comments. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer’s opportunism extended to a single post about it on Facebook and X: “Wow, I didn’t realize Trump was even allowed to break with President Musk.” The Democratic National Committee’s rapid response account on X, “@Factpostnews,” posted about Musk’s comments twice. No formal statement was issued by any of their offices. Nor have other leader members of Congress jumped on Musk’s criticisms in any meaningful way.
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