--- title: Elon Musk Vows to Campaign Against Republicans Who Back Debt-Raising Megabill description: The tech billionaire warned that members of Congress who campaigned on reducing government spending but vote for Trump’s bill “will lose their primary next year if it is the last thing I do on this Earth.” canonical: https://time.com/7298982/musk-trump-big-beautiful-bill-debt-primary-republicans-america-party/ author: Chad de Guzman article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2025-07-01T06:00:00.000Z article:modified_time: 2025-07-02T02:35:29.000Z article:section: Politics og:title: Elon Musk Vows to Campaign Against Republicans Who Back Debt-Raising Megabill og:description: The tech billionaire warned that members of Congress who campaigned on reducing government spending but vote for Trump’s bill “will lose their primary next year if it is the last thing I do on this Earth.” og:url: https://time.com/7298982/musk-trump-big-beautiful-bill-debt-primary-republicans-america-party/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5066b471329a8b64/6998c7e8d32e934bcccd7223/elon-musk.jpg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Elon Musk og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Elon Musk Vows to Campaign Against Republicans Who Back Debt-Raising Megabill twitter:description: The tech billionaire warned that members of Congress who campaigned on reducing government spending but vote for Trump’s bill “will lose their primary next year if it is the last thing I do on this Earth.” twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5066b471329a8b64/6998c7e8d32e934bcccd7223/elon-musk.jpg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # ‘Don’t Bankrupt America’: Musk Vows to Campaign Against Republicans Who Support Trump’s Debt-Raising Megabill ## Video: Trump Tells Reporters “We Might Have to Put DOGE on Elon” [Watch (HLS stream): Trump Tells Reporters “We Might Have to Put DOGE on Elon”](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/m6wLiK9U.m3u8) (0:37)  _Published 2025-07-01. President Donald Trump has made clear that any Republican member of Congress who opposes his sprawling tax-and-spending package dubbed the “One Big Beautiful Bill” will face his wrath. He launched a campaign to primary Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky and suggested he would do the same against Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina, before Tillis announced that he wouldn’t seek reelection. Now, however, another powerful political kingmaker has vowed to challenge any Republican who supports the bill._  by [Chad de Guzman](https://time.com/author/chad-de-guzman/)  ## Chad de Guzman Reporter Updated: Jul 2, 2025 2:35 AM UTCPublished: Jul 1, 2025 6:00 AM UTC  Elon Musk looks on during a Cabinet meeting at the White House on April 30, 2025. Elon Musk looks on during a Cabinet meeting at the White House on April 30, 2025.Andrew Harnik—Getty Images  by [Chad de Guzman](https://time.com/author/chad-de-guzman/)  ## Chad de Guzman Reporter Updated: Jul 2, 2025 2:35 AM UTCPublished: Jul 1, 2025 6:00 AM UTC President Donald Trump has made clear that any Republican member of Congress who opposes his sprawling tax-and-spending package dubbed the “One Big Beautiful Bill” will face his wrath. He launched a campaign to primary [Rep. Thomas Massie](https://time.com/7296692/thomas-massie-trump-mr-no-contrarian-obbb-iran-primary-campaign/) of Kentucky and suggested he would do the same against [Sen. Thom Tillis](https://time.com/7298637/thom-tillis-retirement-reelection-north-carolina-senator-trump-republican-obbb/) of North Carolina, before Tillis announced that he wouldn’t seek reelection. Now, however, another powerful political [kingmaker](https://time.com/7177802/elon-musk-donald-trump-2024-election/) has vowed to challenge any Republican who supports the bill. “Every member of Congress who campaigned on reducing government spending and then immediately voted for the biggest debt increase in history should hang their head in shame!” tech billionaire and former close ally of Trump Elon Musk [posted](https://x.com/elonmusk/status/1939776586989150590) on X. “And they will lose their primary next year if it is the last thing I do on this Earth.” Musk spent more than $250 million to help elect Trump in 2024 but [said](https://time.com/7287098/elon-musk-trump-political-spending/) in May that he had “done enough” and was going to do “a lot less in the future.” He added at the time, however, “if I see a reason to do political spending in the future, I will do it.” Musk posted his warning, among many posts on the topic, on Monday night as Senators continued to vote on a series of amendments to the megabill, which estimates say will add trillions to the [national deficit](https://time.com/7286837/what-trumps-big-beautiful-bill-would-do-to-the-national-debt/) and lead to cuts to [Medicaid](https://time.com/7298772/medicaid-big-beautiful-bill-health-insurance/). > [](https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1939861925514682487) Reigniting a [once-regretted feud](https://time.com/7293095/elon-musk-donald-trump-regret-went-too-far-posts-relationship/) with the President and Republicans that exploded after [Musk left a temporary government role](https://time.com/7289045/musk-trump-big-beautiful-bill-national-debt-deficit-disappointed-doge/) in the Administration in May, Musk [reiterated](https://time.com/7299223/musk-new-politcal-america-party-bill-trump-feud/) a prior idea he’d floated of starting a [new political party](https://time.com/7291937/elon-musk-new-political-party-the-america-party-idea/). “It is obvious with the insane spending of this bill, which increases the debt ceiling by a record FIVE TRILLION DOLLARS that we live in a one-party country – the PORKY PIG PARTY!!” he [posted](https://x.com/elonmusk/status/1939762942851027127) on X. “Time for a new political party that actually cares about the people.” In another post, he [said](https://x.com/elonmusk/status/1939806847504105683) that if the bill actually passes, the “America Party will be formed the next day” to provide “an alternative to the Democrat-Republican uniparty so that the people actually have a VOICE.” When former Rep. Justin Amash, who [left the Republican Party in 2019](https://time.com/5696967/justin-amash-2/) and opted not to run for reelection in 2020 amid criticisms of Trump, asked Musk to support his friend and fellow libertarian-minded conservative Massie, whom Trump has set his sights on ousting from the House, Musk [responded](https://x.com/elonmusk/status/1939823052566708554) “I will.” “The establishment is working to primary him because he’s a genuine fiscal conservative and opposes the Big, Bloated Scam,” Amash said of Massie. Trump took to his own Truth Social platform Monday night to lash out at Musk, suggesting that the wealthiest man in the world, who is also the CEO of electric-car company Tesla and space-technology company SpaceX, is self-interested. “Elon Musk knew, long before he so strongly Endorsed me for President, that I was strongly against the EV Mandate,” Trump [posted](https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/114776149269773065), referring to [policies](https://www.wired.com/story/trump-says-he-ended-the-ev-mandate-what-does-that-mean/) that incentivize—though don’t require—the manufacture and purchase of electric vehicles. “It is ridiculous, and was always a major part of my campaign. Electric cars are fine, but not everyone should be forced to own one. Elon may get more subsidy than any human being in history, by far, and without subsidies, Elon would probably have to close up shop and head back home to South Africa. No more Rocket launches, Satellites, or Electric Car Production, and our Country would save a FORTUNE,” Trump added. Musk’s companies are estimated to receive about [$38 billion](https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/interactive/2025/elon-musk-business-government-contracts-funding/) in government contracts and subsidies. “Perhaps we should have DOGE take a good, hard, look at this?” Trump added, referencing the Department of Government Efficiency that Musk spearheaded. “BIG MONEY TO BE SAVED!!!” Musk previously dismissed Trump when the President made a similar claim about the former White House adviser’s priorities. “Whatever. Keep the EV/solar incentive cuts in the bill, even though no oil & gas subsidies are touched (very unfair!!),” he [posted](https://x.com/elonmusk/status/1930660788739698878) on X in early June. Over the weekend, however, Musk [posted](https://x.com/elonmusk/status/1939390933205991585) that “A massive strategic error is being made right now to damage solar/battery that will leave America extremely vulnerable in the future.” The bill threatens to end [billions of dollars](https://apnews.com/article/senate-clean-energy-tax-credits-trump-87f7ac850247f8a183d7c7933645b331) in green-energy tax credits, which some say could decimate the country’s wind and solar industries. Musk reposted on Monday a [post by Tillis](https://x.com/SenThomTillis/status/1939751507143881163), the [Republican Senator](https://time.com/7298833/thom-tillis-one-big-beautiful-bill/) who announced on Sunday that he planned to retire at the end of his term and would be free from expected deference to party leaders, which backed Musk. “Folks, @ElonMusk is 100% right, and he understands this issue better than anyone,” Tillis posted. “We should take his warnings seriously. We can’t let Communist China become the long-term winner.” On Tuesday morning as Trump was heading to the so-called [Alligator Alcatraz](https://time.com/7297505/florida-alligator-alcatraz-migrant-detention-center/) detention center in Florida, he [said](https://x.com/Emilylgoodin/status/1940020592360509908) “I don’t know. We’ll have to take a look,” when asked by a reporter if he would deport Musk, before adding: “We might have to put DOGE on Elon. You know what DOGE is? DOGE is the monster that might have to go back and eat Elon.” Musk [responded](https://x.com/elonmusk/status/1940025317701148864) on X: “So tempting to escalate this. So, so tempting. But I will refrain for now.” For his part, Musk has insisted that his main focus is the national deficit. “All I’m asking is that we don’t bankrupt America,” he [posted](https://x.com/elonmusk/status/1939912881098957160) as Senators continued to vote on amendments early Tuesday. The White House has [maintained](https://www.whitehouse.gov/articles/2025/06/the-one-big-beautiful-bill-slashes-deficits-national-debt-while-unleashing-economic-growth/) that the bill “actually reduces the debt burden on future generations,” claiming that it “will unleash robust, real economic growth and restore fiscal sanity in America.” But a new estimate from the nonpartisan [Congressional Budget Office](https://www.cbo.gov/publication/61534) released on Sunday showed that the Senate version of the bill would add nearly $3.3 trillion to the deficit over a decade. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/7298982/musk-trump-big-beautiful-bill-debt-primary-republicans-america-party/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/7298982/musk-trump-big-beautiful-bill-debt-primary-republicans-america-party/"},"headline":"‘Don’t Bankrupt America’: Musk Vows to Campaign Against Republicans Who Support Trump’s Debt-Raising Megabill","datePublished":"2025-07-01T06:00:00.000Z","dateModified":"2025-07-02T02:35:29.000Z","description":"The tech billionaire warned that members of Congress who campaigned on reducing government spending but vote for Trump’s bill “will lose their primary next year if it is the last thing I do on this Earth.”","url":"https://time.com/7298982/musk-trump-big-beautiful-bill-debt-primary-republicans-america-party/","keywords":["Congress","Donald Trump","overnight","News Desk"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5066b471329a8b64/6998c7e8d32e934bcccd7223/elon-musk.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Chad de Guzman","jobTitle":"Reporter","url":"https://time.com/author/chad-de-guzman/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5066b471329a8b64/6998c7e8d32e934bcccd7223/elon-musk.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Elon Musk","caption":"Tesla CEO Elon Musk looks on during a Cabinet meeting at the White House in Washington, D.C. on April 30, 2025.","creditText":"Andrew Harnik—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/congress/","name":"Congress"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/7298982/musk-trump-big-beautiful-bill-debt-primary-republicans-america-party/","name":"‘Don’t Bankrupt America’: Musk Vows to Campaign Against Republicans Who Support Trump’s Debt-Raising Megabill"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Trump Tells Reporters “We Might Have to Put DOGE on Elon”","description":"President Donald Trump has made clear that any Republican member of Congress who opposes his sprawling tax-and-spending package dubbed the “One Big Beautiful Bill” will face his wrath. He launched a campaign to primary Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky and suggested he would do the same against Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina, before Tillis announced that he wouldn’t seek reelection. Now, however, another powerful political kingmaker has vowed to challenge any Republican who supports the bill.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/m6wLiK9U/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2025-07-01T15:05:00.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/m6wLiK9U.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/7298982/musk-trump-big-beautiful-bill-debt-primary-republicans-america-party/","duration":"PT37S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/7298982/musk-trump-big-beautiful-bill-debt-primary-republicans-america-party/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```