GOP leaders side with Donald Trump in show of force amid president's bitter feud with Elon Musk

WASHINGTON, DC: As President Donald Trump and tech billionaire Elon Musk's relationship devolved into heated threats and bombshell accusations recently, many GOP leaders have sided with the commander-in-chief in a show of force.

While the Tesla CEO has pushed for Congress to "kill the bill," it does not seem to be shifting the dynamic in Washington as Republicans are confident to get Trump’s "big, beautiful bill" across the finish line, per The Daily Beast.

GOP leaders side with Donald Trump amid his bitter feud with Elon Musk

A Republican strategist suggested that the tech billionaire's attacks on the president could temper criticism among Senate Republicans who have taken issue with the legislation as they don’t want to side with Musk, according to the outlet. 

Meanwhile, apart from the bill, GOP lawmakers have made it clear that they’re behind Trump over Musk as insults flew. 

Republicans have largely refrained from insulting Musk directly and have touted his DOGE efforts, however, they were quick to dismiss any concerns about how the feud could impact the 2026 midterms despite Musk’s threats, per the outlet.

Rep Chip Roy (R-TX) mentioned that the breakdown did not concern him, while Rep Tim Burchett (R-TN) said that Musk's attacks on the president undermine the tech billionaire.

Other GOP lawmakers called it predictable and inevitable, according to The Daily Beast.

Mark Bednar, a former House Republican leadership aide, said, "House Republicans have long dealt with ideological and personality divides, and the dynamic remains unchanged."

Notably, the House bill pushed by Speaker Mike Johnson is the target of Musk’s attacks.

However, Johnson staked GOP wins on Trump on Friday, June 6, and continues to project optimism that the spending bill will pass by July 4, the outlet reported.

Moreover, Johnson said the Tesla CEO was a big contributor in the 2024 presidential election, but argued that it was a whole team effort in Republicans holding the majority in November 2024.

Johnson told CNBC in response to Musk’s claim about the GOP majority, "President Trump is the most consequential figure of his generation, of modern American history. He is the one responsible for that. But we all worked hard. We delivered the House majority."

Meanwhile, Rep Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) also voiced her backing of Trump as the feud escalated, even though she has voiced criticism of the "big, beautiful bill."

She wrote on X (formerly Twitter), "Just to be clear, I voted for Donald J Trump on Nov 4, 2024. Not anyone else. I voted for Trump. I voted for Trump’s agenda." 

Elon Musk claims Republicans should side with him amid Donald Trump fallout

The Tesla CEO has asked Republican lawmakers to side with him as he will live longer than Donald Trump, amid his dramatic fallout with the president.

In one of his posts slamming the "big, beautiful bill," Musk wrote, "I’m sorry, but I just can’t stand it anymore. 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."

Moreover, the multi-billionaire later claimed that if passed, the bill would increase the US budget deficit by $5 trillion.

Trump addressed Musk’s criticism of his bill in an Oval Office press conference and claimed he was "very disappointed" by his former adviser.

The POTUS said, per Mediaite, "I'm very disappointed because Elon knew the inner workings of this bill better than almost anybody sitting here, better than you people. He knew everything about it. He had no problem with it."

Moreover, Trump downplayed Musk's impact in the 2024 presidential election and claimed he would have won whether or not Musk got involved.

The Tesla CEO fired back at Trump’s claims, and wrote in a post, "Without me, Trump would have lost the election, Dems would control the House and the Republicans would be 51-49 in the Senate… Such ingratitude."

Amid this, conservative firebrand Laura Loomer posted a screenshot of Musk’s comments and wrote, "It’s heating up. Will be interesting to see what Republican lawmakers do now. I know law makers who are asking if they should side with President Trump or Elon. I’ve been on the hill all day and it’s all anyone is talking about. The most powerful man in the world vs the richest man in the world."

Musk replied to her post and wrote, "Oh, and some food for thought as they ponder this question: Trump has 3.5 years left as President, but I will be around for 40+ years…"