USA: Trump wants to push through tax plans – Musk threatens Republicans

The peace only lasted a short time: Tech billionaire Elon Musk is once again trying to thwart the US President's tax plans - and is threatening Republicans with their vote of no confidence.

Tech billionaire Elon Musk has railed against the tax and spending bill pushed by US President Donald Trump in a series of social media posts – including a threat against members of Congress. "Any member of Congress who campaigned on cutting government spending and then immediately voted for the largest debt increase in history should be ashamed!" he wrote on Platform X. "And they will lose their primary next year if it's the last thing I do on this earth."

In another post, he criticized a supposed "unity party" of Democrats and Republicans and emphasized that the US needed an alternative. "If this insane spending bill passes, the America Party will be founded the next day." It's time for a new political party that actually cares about the people, he wrote in another post. Musk had already proposed founding a new centrist party a few weeks ago.

Donald Trump's "One Big Beautiful Bill" is a massive legislative package that includes major tax cuts. Among other things, tips and overtime are to be exempted from taxes , the child tax credit is to be increased, and tax breaks are to be granted to seniors. Last but not least, significant investments in border security are planned. At the same time, the bill proposes significant cuts to social programs such as Medicaid (the health care program for the poor) and SNAP (food assistance program). According to estimates, the bill would increase the budget deficit by approximately $ 3.3 trillion over the next ten years.

The dispute between him and Trump, which culminated in an open mudslinging match at the beginning of June , was sparked by the tax and spending bill. The US president wants to implement key campaign promises with it, while Musk, in contrast, is demanding significantly greater spending cuts. After their verbal exchange on social media, both initially sought mediation. But in recent days, Musk has again sharply criticized the proposed legislation .

Trump has been campaigning for the passage of the bill for weeks – and in doing so, he's also exerting pressure on critics within the Republican Party. Budget-conservative dissenters, like Musk, have recently criticized the bill for not going far enough in cutting government spending. The debate over the budget and tax bill has now entered its decisive phase in Congress.

However, there was no end in sight to the marathon vote in the Senate on Tuesday night (local time). There were hundreds of amendments to Trump's "big, beautiful bill," as the president calls it. In light of the delay, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt called on Republicans to "stand tough and united." In the recent past, similar votes have taken nine to ten hours to complete – in this case, the vote that began on Monday (local time) had already lasted for more than 13 hours.

Democrats accused Republicans on Monday evening of deliberately dragging out the process. "They have many members who were promised things that they may not be able to keep. And so they're just dragging out the process," Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer told reporters late Monday evening.

Trump wants to have the bill on the table for signature by the national holiday on Friday, July 4. If the bill passes, it will still have to go to the House of Representatives for a second reading. However, the president isn't sure of a majority due to concerns within his own camp.