By Brendan Scanland
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The fallout continued Friday in Washington after tensions flared Thursday between President Donald Trump and tech billionaire Elon Musk.
Lawmakers are reacting to the feud on Capitol Hill after Musk unleashed a wave of criticism against President Trump and his sweeping legislative package, known as the “One, Big, Beautiful Bill Act.”
But what started as a policy disagreement quickly turned personal — fracturing one of the most high-profile alliances in modern politics.
“It’s really unfortunate. It’s unnecessary and it’s a distraction,” said Rep. Nick Langworthy (R-NY).
Just hours after the House narrowly passed the “One, Big, Beautiful Bill Act” in May, Rep. Langworthy and several of his Republican colleagues met with Musk.
“He expressed no reservations with the bill other than the fact that he wanted to see solar credits put back into the bill,” Langworthy said.
Musk’s sharp pivot has energized conservative critics of the bill, who argue it spends too much and drives the U.S. deeper into debt.
Langworthy warned that if Musk and hardliners succeed in derailing the legislation, “then they’re working for the Democrats that they don’t want to see any change. They want to see us continue into a spending spiral that’s going to bankrupt the country.”
“Certainly, Musk’s temper tantrum here will embolden some of those on the hard right to try to distract us. They tried to stop us in the House. They didn’t. I don’t think they will stop us in the Senate,” said Langworthy. “The will of the president, the president’s supporters, and what we’ve done to this point — the mandate that we’ve been given by the American people — insists that we get this done. People want to see action. They don’t want to see us win the House, the Senate and the presidency and come up with an empty bag. That would be failure,” he added.
The political fallout over the bill could extend into the 2026 midterms, as Musk has threatened to back primary challengers to GOP incumbents who support the bill.
“I think he’s serious today- and this is the problem with things changing so quickly- they were in love last week, and now we’re not sure what’s going on. So maybe in a month or two months from now, who knows,” said Casey Burgat, assistant professor and director of legislative affairs at the George Washington University Graduate School of Political Management.
Burgat added that if the divide isn’t repaired, it could hurt Republicans, and their majorities, in 2026.
“But the threat is real. Especially given the fact that he’s literally the world’s richest person. He gave hundreds of millions of dollars to Donald Trump. He has friends that can write unlimited checks,” Burgat said. “And these primaries really matter to people because they decide who ultimately will win the general election.”
With the Senate vote looming, lawmakers are scrambling — and some fear Musk’s backlash could cost them just enough votes to tank the bill.
“I can see it going both ways. If he picks off or loses 1 to 3 votes in the House, it’s done. If he loses a couple of members of the Senate, it’s done too,” said Burgat. “They just don’t have the margin to spare… But on the other hand, we know that the president versus any private citizen, including Elon Musk, is going to win that power struggle — that Trump is the leader of this party.”
Although the size and speed of the fallout surprised some, others saw the clash as inevitable.
“To me, it was always when, not if, this was going to happen. And man, did it escalate quickly. And not only a back and forth about policy, which is where it started, but it went personal on the same exact day… That’s tough to walk back,” Burgat said. “These two personalities were obviously going to come into conflict, and we’re seeing it play out right now.”
“I think we all knew that the relationship, probably based on the personality, was destined for a breakup at some point, but the volumes are just too high here,” Langworthy added.
