Trump Reacts To Musk's Disappointment With 'Big, Beautiful Bill,' Says 'We Have To Get A Lot Of Votes'

President Donald Trump responded to Elon Musk's criticism of his "big, beautiful bill" by highlighting political obstacles and expressing his own mixed feelings about its provisions.

What Happened: On Wednesday, Trump was questioned about Musk's reaction to the bill during an exchange at the Oval Office, The Hill reports. In a recent interview, Musk said he was "disappointed to see the massive spending bill" and said it  "undermines the work that the DOGE team is doing."

Without directly addressing Musk's concerns, Trump said: "Well, our reaction's a lot of things." "Number one, we have to get a lot of votes, we can't be cutting — we need to get a lot of support and we have a lot of support," he added, highlighting the absence of Democratic support. "If it was up to the Democrats, they'll take the 65 percent increase," he said.

The bill, which increases the debt ceiling by $4 trillion, moved through the House after complicated negotiations and is now under Senate review.

See Also: Trump Economic Advisor Kevin Hassett Says ‘We’d Have Had A Recession’ But Passing Of ‘One Big Beautiful Bill’ Helped Avoid The Downturn

Why It Matters: Musk, who announced his decision to step down from his role at the Trump administration, said, "I don't think a bill can be both big and beautiful."

Trump acknowledged the bill's shortcomings but also defended certain parts of it: "We will be negotiating that bill, and I'm not happy about certain aspects of it, but I'm thrilled by other aspects of it," he said. "That's the way it goes. It's very big, it's the big, beautiful, but the beautiful is because of all the things that we have."

Praising leaders like Speaker Mike Johnson and Senate Majority Leader John Thune, Trump highlighted the scale of the effort: "I think we have an amazing — if we pull this off." "The Senate, as you know, is negotiating with us, and they have to then go back to the House and you know, it's got a way to go," he added.

Musk's criticism and Trump's response come just as controversy surrounding the bill reaches new heights, with Trump advisor David Sacks admitting that the bill includes massive cuts to Medicaid even as Johnson and Trump claim it doesn't. Some GOP Senators have also expressed dissatisfaction with provisions related to spending cuts.

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