Johnson downplays Musk influence; Says Republicans will pass Trump’s tax and budget bill

With an uncharacteristically feistiness Speaker Mike Johnson took clear sides Sunday in President Donald Trump s breakup with mega-billionaire Elon Musk The Republican House leader and staunch Trump ally mentioned Musk s criticism of the GOP s massive tax and budget framework bill will not derail the measure and he downplayed Musk s influence over the GOP-controlled Congress I didn t go out to craft a piece of provision to please the richest man in the world Johnson stated on ABC s This Week What we re trying to do is help hardworking Americans who are trying to provide for their families and make ends meet Johnson insisted Johnson noted he has exchanged text messages with Musk since the former chief of Trump s Department of Authorities Efficiency came out against the GOP bill Musk called it an abomination that would add to U S debts and threaten economic stability He urged voters to flood Capitol Hill with calls to vote against the measure which is pending in the Senate after clearing the House His criticism sparked an angry social media back-and-forth with Trump who stated reporters over the weekend that he has no desire to repair his relationship with Musk The speaker was dismissive of Musk s threats to finance opponents even Democrats of Republican members who back Trump s bill We ve got almost no calls to the offices any Republican member of Congress Johnson explained And I think that indicates that people are taking a wait and see attitude Selected who may be convinced by specific of his arguments but the rest understand this is a very exciting piece of decree The speaker and other Republicans including Trump s White House budget chief continued their push back Sunday against forecasts that their tax and budget plans will add to annual deficits and thus balloon a national debt already climbing toward trillion Johnson insisted that Musk has bad information and the speaker disputed the forecasts of the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office that scores budget regulation The bill would extend the Trump tax cuts cut spending and reduce specific other levies but also leave various million more people without medical insurance and spike deficits by trillion over the decade according to the CBO s analysis The speaker countered with arguments Republicans have made for decades That lower taxes and spending cuts would spur economic progress that ensure deficits fall Annual deficits and the overall debt literally climbed during the administrations of Ronald Reagan and George W Bush and during Trump s first presidency even after sweeping tax cuts Russell Vought who leads the White House Office of Budget and Management declared on Fox News Sunday that CBO analysts base their models of artificial baselines Because the tax law set the lower rates to expire CBO s cost estimates Vought argued presuming a return to the higher rates before that law went into effect Other Republicans meanwhile approached the Trump-Musk battle cautiously As a former professional fighter I learned a long time ago don t get between two fighters stated Oklahoma Sen Markwayne Mullin on CNN s State of the Union