A dramatic fallout between Elon Musk and House Speaker Mike Johnson has seen the tech billionaire change his phone number and cut off communication with the GOP leader, following tensions over the Republicans’ massive One Big Beautiful Bill Act, Johnson revealed on the latest Pod Force One episode released Wednesday, July 16.
“I sent him a long text message, and then his phone number changed after the blow-up,” Johnson told The Post’s Miranda Devine. “I look forward to meeting with him in person. We got to make that right.”
The rift reportedly began in late May, when Musk formerly aligned with the Trump administration, slammed the bill as “pork-filled” and a “disgusting abomination,” citing its failure to adequately address America’s ballooning deficit. Musk, a vocal proponent of aggressive debt reduction through his pet Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), felt betrayed.
Despite his protests, the bill passed Congress and was signed into law by Trump on July 4.
Just a day later, Musk fired back with a political bombshell announcing plans to form a new centrist movement called the “America Party,” a swipe at what he calls the dysfunction of the two-party system. Trump didn’t mince words in response, branding Musk “a TRAIN WRECK” on Truth Social and dismissing his party idea as “ridiculous.”
Johnson, for his part, acknowledged Musk’s growing frustration over the bill’s handling of electric vehicle policies and green mandates that clashed with his libertarian-leaning economic ideals.
“He knew what we were doing we talked about it for months,” Johnson said. “The final product maybe didn’t meet all his expectations … but I’ve got to keep my eyes on the prize.”
Despite being iced out, Johnson said he made multiple attempts to reconnect through intermediaries and still hopes Musk and Trump can reconcile. He described Musk as a “genius” and emphasized the Republican Party’s “long game” approach to tackling debt and deficit challenges.
Meanwhile, White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles weighed in last week, offering a somber reflection on the now-fractured alliance.
“It was a great thing when it was a great thing and had a very troublesome ending,” she said.
As Musk sets his sights on political realignment and GOP lawmakers try to salvage relationships behind the scenes, the fallout reveals deepening ideological fault lines in the conservative coalition one now forced to grapple with a billionaire maverick no longer content to stay in line.
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