Former DOGE Chief Threatens to Unseat GOP Lawmakers Supporting Debt-Raising Legislation
President Donald Trump said Tuesday he is considering whether to deport Elon Musk and warned he may turn the Department of Government Efficiency against the Tesla founder, escalating their feud over the president’s signature tax and spending legislation.
“I don’t know. We’ll have to take a look,” Trump told Daily Mail reporter Emily Goodin when asked about deporting Musk, who is a naturalized American citizen born in South Africa.
“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,” Trump added before boarding Marine One.
The comments mark the latest escalation in a bitter public spat between the president and his former “first buddy” over the “One Big Beautiful Bill” currently being debated in the Senate after more than 20 hours of deliberation.
Musk, who left his role leading DOGE at the end of May after reaching his 130-day limit as a special government employee, has become a vocal critic of the legislation, particularly its $4-5 trillion increase to the debt ceiling.
“They will lose their primary next year if it is the last thing I do on this Earth,” Musk posted Monday on X, threatening GOP lawmakers who vote for the bill.
The world’s richest man, who contributed nearly $300 million to Republican candidates last year, warned: “If this insane spending bill passes, the America Party will be formed the next day.
Trump fired back on Truth Social early Tuesday, writing: “Elon Musk knew, long before he so strongly Endorsed me for President, that I was strongly against the EV Mandate.
“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.”
The president then escalated his rhetoric, suggesting Musk’s extensive government subsidies could be scrutinized: “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. Perhaps we should have DOGE take a good, hard, look at this? BIG MONEY TO BE SAVED!!!”
The House-passed Bill, formally titled the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” would make permanent Trump’s 2017 tax cuts while adding new breaks for tips, overtime pay, and seniors. It also includes significant spending cuts to Medicaid and food stamps.
Congressional Budget Office analysis shows the tax provisions would reduce federal revenue by $3.8 trillion over ten years, while spending cuts would save approximately $1.3-1.5 trillion, resulting in a net deficit increase of around $2.4 trillion before interest costs.
During his White House tenure, Musk had promised to find $2 trillion in government spending cuts but later scaled that back to $150-175 billion. His departure came amid legal challenges to DOGE’s authority and methods.
Trump appeared to express regret about his Tesla purchase earlier this year when he transformed the White House South Lawn into a showroom to support Musk’s work.
“Not everybody wants an electric car. I don’t want an electric car,” Trump said Tuesday.
Musk responded to Trump’s attacks Tuesday morning on X, writing that while it is [s]o tempting to escalate this,” he would “refrain for now.”
The Senate is expected to vote on the legislation Tuesday after what became the longest vote-a-rama session in the chamber’s history. The bill faces opposition from fiscal hawks including Senators Rand Paul and Ron Johnson, who object to the debt ceiling increase.
If passed by the Senate with changes, the bill would return to the House, where Speaker Mike Johnson secured passage by just one vote and cannot afford defections from his narrow majority.
While the Justice Department has recently directed attorneys to prioritize denaturalization cases where naturalized citizens commit crimes, Trump did not suggest Musk had committed any crime. Deportation of a naturalized citizen would require legal proceedings proving fraud in the naturalization process or subsequent criminal activity warranting such action.
The clash represents a dramatic reversal from earlier this year when the two men appeared inseparable, with Musk spending “7 days a week” in Washington working on government efficiency efforts before legal challenges and the expiration of his special employee status forced his departure.
Image credit:
Donald Trump, August 19, 2015 (cropped). Photo by Michael Vadon, via Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.
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