Elon Musk is backing Rep. Thomas Massie. Not for headlines. For principle. Massie voted no on the $2.4 trillion “Big Beautiful Bill.” That triggered a Trump-endorsed primary challenge. Musk stepped in and pledged support. This isn’t about personalities. It’s about the math.
The Congressional Budget Office ran the numbers. The bill delivers $3.7 trillion in tax cuts with only $1.3 trillion in offsets. Interest costs rise by another $441 billion. There are no spending caps. No audit triggers. No enforcement tools. Debt-to-GDP hits 124% by 2034. If temporary provisions are extended, it jumps to 133%. That’s not a projection. That’s baked in.
🚨 UPDATE: Elon Musk will be donating to Thomas Massie's primary campaign, defending Massie against President Trump's challenge pic.twitter.com/WJFGymYAiX
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) July 1, 2025
The bill passed the House in May. The Senate version—940 pages—cleared on July 1 after a 20-hour session. No hearings. No amendments. No line-item review. Final House vote is set for July 2. The White House claims the bill will boost GDP by 2.4%. The CBO says 0.4%.
Massie voted no. Now he’s facing four challengers. Trump called him a “fool” and promised to remove him. State Sen. Aaron Reed is the lead name. Pro-Trump PACs are already spending. Up to $30 million is being lined up for the race. The campaign is already live.
Musk didn’t issue a press release. He replied “Me” to a donor post. Then called Massie “awesome.” He’s made it clear he’ll support any candidate who votes against blank-check debt. Musk left the Department of Government Efficiency in May. Since then, the feud with Trump has escalated. After Trump joked about “assigning DOGE to Elon,” Musk replied, “So tempting to escalate this. So, so tempting. But I will refrain for now.”
The bill contains no audit mandates. No clawbacks. No penalties for waste. The word “oversight” doesn’t appear once in the 940-page text. The vote wasn’t about loyalty. It was about whether anyone in Congress would say no to a bill that adds trillions in debt with no brakes.
Massie did. Musk backed him. That’s the story.
Sources
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/06/25/kentucky-thomas-massie-primary-trump-00422377
https://www.cbo.gov/publication/61486
https://www.crfb.org/blogs/cbo-estimates-3-trillion-debt-house-passed-obbba
https://www.kimatv.com/news/nation-world/musk-suggests-he-will-donate-to-trump-critic-thomas-massie
https://time.com/7299226/big-beautiful-bill-senate-trump-murkowski/