WASHINGTON >> Elon Musk blasted President Donald Trump’s “big, beautiful bill” of tax breaks and spending cuts as a “disgusting abomination” on Tuesday, testing the limits of his political influence as he targeted the centerpiece of Republicans’ legislative agenda.

The broadside, which Musk issued on his social media platform X, came just days after the president gave him a celebratory Oval Office farewell that marked the end of his work for the administration, where he spearheaded the unofficial Department of Government Efficiency.“I’m sorry, but I just can’t stand it anymore,” Musk posted on X. “This massive, outrageous, pork-filled Congressional spending bill is a disgusting abomination. Shame on those who voted for it: you know you did wrong. You know it.”

The legislation, which has passed the House and is currently under debate in the Senate, would curtail subsidies that benefit Tesla, Musk’s electric automaker.

The tech billionaire followed his criticism with a threat aimed at Republicans.

“In November next year, we fire all politicians who betrayed the American people,” he wrote in another X post.

Shift in priorities

It’s a sharp shift for Musk, the world’s richest person who spent at least $250 million supporting Trump’s campaign last year. He previously pledged to help defeat Republican lawmakers deemed insufficiently loyal to Trump, but now he’s suggesting voting them out if they advance the president’s legislative priority.

However, it’s unclear how Musk will follow through on his criticism. He recently said that he would spend “a lot less” on political campaigns, though he left the door open to political involvement “if I see a reason.”

In Congress

Republican leaders sought to play down Musk’s criticism.

“No matter what Elon Musk or anybody else says — and I don’t want to diminish him because I don’t think that’s fair — it’s still going to be second fiddle to President Trump,” said Republican West Virginia Sen. Shelley Moore Capito.

House Speaker Mike Johnson said he had talked to Musk on Monday, and left the call under the impression that he “seemed to understand” the importance of the legislation.

“For him to come out and pan the whole bill is to me just very disappointing, very surprising,” Johnson said, adding, “With all due respect, my friend Elon is terribly wrong.”

Musk weighed in as Senate Republicans convened for their weekly private luncheon. The reaction inside the room, Sen. Kevin Cramer of South Dakota said, was “eye-roll, I suppose.”

“I just don’t base my policy positions based on his,” Cramer said.

Taking on more debt

The budget package seeks to extend tax cuts approved in 2017, during Trump’s first term at the White House, and add new ones he campaigned on. It also includes a massive build-up of $350 billion for border security, deportations and national security.

To defray some of the lost tax revenue to the government and limit piling onto the nation’s $36 trillion debt load, Republicans want to reduce federal spending by imposing work requirements for some Americans who rely on government safety net services.

Musk’s post threw another hurdle in front of Senate Majority Leader John Thune’s already complex task to pass a bill in time for Trump to achieve his goal of signing it by July 4. The South Dakota Republican has few votes to spare in the GOP’s slim 53-seat majority.

Still, Trump enjoys fierce loyalty among the GOP base, and in the end, his opinion may be the only one that matters.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt also played down Musk’s criticism.

“The president already knows where Elon Musk stood on this bill,” Leavitt said, and Musk’s post “doesn’t change the president’s opinion.”

Democrats’ reaction

The tension in the GOP delighted Democrats, who found themselves in the unlikely position of siding with Musk. Democrats are waging an all-out political assault on GOP proposals to cut Medicaid, food stamps and green energy investments to help pay for more than $4.5 trillion in tax cuts — with many lawmakers being hammered at boisterous town halls back home.

“We’re in complete agreement,” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said of Musk. The New York Democratic lawmaker stood alongside a poster-sized printout of Musk’s post during a Capitol news conference.

Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York, the minority leader, said he was shocked to be uttering the phrase “I agree with Elon Musk,” noting that the Republican Party was once the party of fiscal hawks.

“Republicans should listen to him — and actually to their former selves — outraged about the national debt,” Schumer told reporters.

This report contains information from the New York Times.