Elon Musk is threatening major Republicans who voted for President Trump’s “big and beautiful bill,” bringing challenges to the president and his allies as they try to counter medium-term headwinds.
Musk vowed this week that a Republican who supported Trump’s megaville “If it’s the last thing I do on this planet, I’ll lose next year’s primary.”
Republicans view comments as useless, and some say that if the threat comes true, they could risk distracting resources in an electoral environment where historically they weren’t kind to the president’s powerful.
“One of the most devastating actions we had in the failed cycle of the Senate race was that we spent massive resources in partisan civil wars,” said the Republican consultant who worked on the Senate race.
Since Musk finished his White House stint, the billionaire has been a critic of Trump’s main policy bill voices, with the special problem that he says multiple trillion dollar analyses will be added to the deficit.
The House of Representatives slightly passed the final version of the bill on Thursday, with Trump signing it on Friday evening at the White House for the July 4th event.
But Musk’s complaints reached new points Monday when he said he would back the challenger to Republicans who supported Trump’s agenda setting laws, but he also said he was trying to protect Rep. Thomas Massey (r-ky.), a prominent opponent of the bill that attracted Trump’s justice.
Tesla’s CEO also suggested it was time for a new political party.
“It’s clear in this bill’s insane spending. This will increase the debt cap at the record $5 trillion we live in one party country. Porky pig party!! He’s time for a new political party that actually cares about the people.”
Some lawmakers are trying to dispel the threat of masks.
“I will take approval for President Trump’s optional day, any day in my hometown,” Sen. Roger Marshall (R-Kan.) said in an interview with Nicholas Barash on News about potential major challenges.
Marshall said his Republican colleagues were “ignoring” Musk.
Meanwhile, Trump left his door open this week to deport Musk, who was born in South Africa and became a naturalized US citizen. He also proposed that Musk’s Government Efficiency Advisory Office (DOGE) could oppose the billionaire and his company.
“I think what happens is that Doge sees musk, and if Doge sees musk, we’re going to save a lot of money,” Trump said Tuesday in Florida. “I don’t think he should play that game with me.”
Representatives from the White House and Musk did not respond to requests for comment on the story.
Some Republicans expressed skepticism that musks actually continue in launching key challenges for incumbents in the GOP, while others did not view the billionaire statement as an immediate threat.
“We’ve been working hard to get into the world,” said Mark Jefferson, former executive director of Wisconsin GOP.
“I’m not taking that threat seriously. How do you reserve hundreds of people?” asked Georgia-based Republican consultant Brian Robinson.
Unlike Musk, Trump has a history of trying to drive away his rival Republicans, and his success levels vary. And Trump’s allies have already shown this cycle, and they are not afraid to interfere with the president and the party members who think they are blocking his agenda. Pro Trump’s Super PAC is created with the goal of “firing” Massie.
“Unless Musk can line up A-Team candidates, people you trust, people on the same wing of the party, he won’t go anywhere,” said Eric Levine, a top-gop donor who described Massy as “fringe.”
Other Republicans have suggested that it may not be long before Trump and Musk return on good terms again.
It is too early to say how serious Musk is about his main threat, but this move will be an unnecessary obstacle for the party.
“I think the main fight usually does nothing but strengthens the opposition, so I hope he clearly isn’t,” said longtime GOP Donnerville Bean.
Bean acknowledged that MUSK has “has points” on the GOP law that causes a deficit, but also expressed concern that Musk’s main challenge for members of Congress could divert resources from areas where Republicans are not involved.
“I think he’ll spend his money much better than he’s 100% like conservatives, or instead of making an elementary conservative Republican who might not be 100% like conservatives, or 100% would go out and agree to win the election in the swing district,” Bean said.
“If there is a 30-seat majority in the House and a 12-seat majority in the Senate, the ongoing bill will ensure that it is much closer to what he wants to see,” he added.
Musk’s comments represent a notable change since just a few months ago when he was considered one of Trump’s biggest ally.
His American PAC only spent tens of millions of dollars to support the president during the 2024 election. He was an important donor for Wisconsin Republicans earlier this year.
Even if Musk opens up old wounds with Trump over the Republican major policy bill, he has not stopped him from offering some praise to the president. He praised the president last week for his diplomatic handling, writing in a post on Wednesday in X’s post: “Credits with credit deadlines. @Realdonaldtrump has successfully resolved several serious conflicts around the world.”
Meanwhile, some Republicans have warnings against Musk if they chase his threat.
“Musk is deeply disliked among Democrats. For now, he has maintained a good position among Republicans, but if he follows it, he will be a man of no nation as well,” Michigan GOP strategist Jason Cabel Law told Hills. “It would hamper any political or business initiatives he is involved in.”