Musk has publicly criticized Trump's budget policy. What the media is writing


Entrepreneur Elon Musk has loudly criticized US President Donald Trump's budget policy bill, which took his White House colleagues by surprise. The bill will reduce social spending, but at the same time increase the national debt of the United States. At the same time, Trump is looking for new ways to reduce spending and has once again increased import duties. What the media write about the president's monetary policy is in the Izvestia digest.
Associated Press: Max criticized Trump's budget bill
Entrepreneur Elon Musk has sharply criticized the Republican bill, developed in support of President Donald Trump's agenda, which he calls a "big, wonderful bill." The comment came a few days after Musk was given a solemn farewell in the Oval Office of the White House, marking the end of his work in the administration, where he headed the Department of Public Administration Efficiency.
Associated Press
"I'm sorry, but I can't take this anymore,— Musk wrote on X (ex. Twitter). "This huge, outrageous, piggy congressional spending bill is a disgusting abomination. Shame on those who voted for him.: You know what you did was wrong. You know that." The bill, passed by the House of Representatives and currently being debated in the Senate, would reduce subsidies paid to Tesla, Musk's electric car manufacturer.
The budget bill aims to extend tax breaks approved in 2017 and add new ones that Trump promoted during his campaign. It also includes massive spending of $350 billion on border security, deportations, and national security. To compensate for some of the lost tax revenue and limit the growth of the national debt, Republicans want to reduce federal spending.
CNN: Musk's criticism came as a surprise to the White House
Several White House officials said they were caught off guard by Musk's harsh remarks. Although his opinion on the bill was not a secret to the staff, they did not expect him to take such a tough public position, especially given Musk's relationship with the White House staff and Republican lawmakers. White House spokeswoman Caroline Leavitt noted that Trump knows Musk's position on the bill.
CNN
Speaker of the House of Representatives Mike Johnson spoke out against Musk on Tuesday, saying he was "terribly wrong" about the bill. The Republican Party leader added to reporters that he and Musk had a "very friendly conversation" on the phone on Monday, where Johnson "extolled all the advantages of the bill."
The leader of the Republican majority in the Senate, John Thune, called the billionaire's opposition a "difference of opinion," but added that he plans to "act at full speed." He indicated that he would not abandon the wording in the bill, which concerns raising the national debt limit. At the same time, Republican Senator Rand Paul said he agreed with Musk.
CBS News: Six Nobel laureates warned about the consequences of the law
Six Nobel Prize-winning economists said that the massive budget bill supported by Trump would weaken key social protection programs, but at the same time significantly increase the federal debt. The letter, signed by them, claims that the bill will harm millions of Americans by cutting the Medicaid medical program and the discounted grocery purchase program.
CBS News
"Even with the cuts in social protection, the House bill will lead to an increase in the national debt by more than $3 trillion in the coming years (and by more than $5 trillion over the next decade if the provisions become permanent rather than gradually abolished)," the economists say. "Higher debt and deficits will put noticeable upward pressure on both inflation and interest rates in the coming years."
The Senate is expected to consider the bill this week, but it is not yet clear whether it will be passed due to strong opposition from Democrats and concerns from some Republicans. Trump said the proposed tax breaks would boost the number of workers and encourage investment in domestic production. The White House Council of Economic Advisers argues that the president's policy, combined with high import duties on major U.S. trading partners, will give a new boost to growth and reduce the budget deficit.
Bloomberg: Trump doubles US duties on aluminum and steel
Trump raised tariffs on steel and aluminum from 25% to 50%, fulfilling a promise to raise import duties in the United States to help domestic producers. The tariffs have been imposed since June 4, and Trump called them necessary to protect national security. At the same time, according to the decree, duties on metal imports from the UK will remain at the same level of 25%, which will allow the two countries to develop new duties or quotas by July 9.
Bloomberg
The decree, signed on Tuesday, states that previous fees "have not yet allowed the domestic industry to develop and maintain the pace of capacity utilization necessary for the sustainable development of industries and the projected needs of national defense."
These fees are heightening trade tensions at a time when the United States is negotiating with numerous trading partners over so-called "retaliatory" duties ahead of the July 9 deadline. Trump announced his decision to raise steel duties during a speech at the United States Steel Corp. plant. In Pennsylvania on May 30, where he approved the sale of the company to Japan's Nippon Steel Corp., promising that it would remain under some form of American control.
The Washington Post: Trump asked to cut spending on AIDS
The White House Budget Office has called on Congress to cancel more than $9 billion in funding for global health and government-owned radio and television stations. The cuts will affect funds used to fight AIDS, fund U.S. contributions to the World Health Organization, support international peacekeeping operations, and provide media services to American consumers.
The Washington Post
A significant portion of the money has already been cut by the Department of Public Administration Efficiency, which until recently was headed by billionaire Elon Musk, while the administration refused to spend the rest. Some lawmakers have said that the only way to make these spending cuts permanent is to pass legislation, which the White House is now trying to do.
Although the scale of the proposed savings will be relatively small, Trump and his allies argue that many of the targeted agencies and programs are wasteful, and they themselves are implementing a leftist agenda in accordance with party preferences.
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