Trump-Musk 'big, beautiful brawl' shouldn't impede passing bill, says GOP lawmaker
Rep. Andy Ogles (R-Tenn.) during a Thursday interview on The Hill on NewsNation that the bitter public feud between President Trump and tech billionaire Elon Musk should not stop Congress from eventually passing the president’s massive “Big, Beautiful Bill.”
“This isn't about choosing sides. This is two individuals who have a big, beautiful brawl. Let's call it that, right?” Ogles said.
He said the bill containing Trump's first-year legislative agenda is definitely big, but "not quite beautiful yet"
"And that’s why we’re kicking it over to the Senate. That’s part of the process," he said.
“And I think there’s a real opportunity in my conversations with the White House, with the senators as well, that they’ll make some additional cuts - making it better. And so their self-imposed deadline is July 4. We’ll vote on it there after, and then we truly will have a big, beautiful bill,” Ogles told host Blake Burman.
The spat between Musk and Trump began over the tech mogul's disappointment with the legislation, and escalated on Thursday.
Trump slammed Musk as “crazy” in a post, while Musk supported calls for Trump to be impeached, accused the president of being in the convicted sex offender and financier Jeffrey Epstein’s files.
Musk said he would ground SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft used to shuttle astronauts, but appeared to reverse course later in the day.
The enormous spending legislation, which passed the House last month, has prompted concerns from various GOP senators. Some Republican lawmakers are expressing worry over spending cuts for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and Medicaid, while fiscal hawks are pushing for greater deficit reduction and have blasted the proposal to lift the cap on state and local tax (SALT) deductions.
There are 53 GOP senators, therefore, the conference can afford three defections to pass the measure if all Democrats vote against the bill.
Ogles said he expects the senators to alter the bill and also that once the legislation is signed into law, the extension of Trump’s 2017 tax cuts will bring more stability to the market.
“Look, so what you have is the President's priorities, and I agree with is making the tax cuts permanent. When you make the Trump tax cuts permanent, that signaling to the markets. This is the landscape. So if you want to invest, if you want to invest in your business, this is, this is where you're operating, how you're operating, if your company [is] looking to come into the United States, all of these things are important. More money for the border and deportations.”
Ogles added that as long as the Senate’s version of the bill “maintain the integrity of what we have done,” it will pass.