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An emerging gulf between President Donald Trump and recently departed adviser Elon Musk is underscoring tensions among Republicans as fiscal hawks in the Senate threaten to withhold support for the “big, beautiful bill” and other GOP senators seek to amend the delicate negotiations that helped the measure narrowly pass the House last month.
Wisconsin Sen. Ron Johnson called the measure “immoral,” and Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul said he “can’t be on record as being one who supports increasing the debt by $5 trillion.” (The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office calculates that the House-passed version of the bill would increase deficits by $2.4 trillion over the next decade.)
Musk, a onetime self-described “first buddy” of Trump’s and the top donor to Republicans running for federal office in 2024, pumped out a series of posts on social media fanning the flames of Republican discontent. “Call your Senator, Call your Congressman, Bankrupting America is NOT ok!” he wrote.
Musk isn’t just targeting members of Congress. On Thursday, he took more direct aim at the president himself, recycling a couple of old Trump tweets. For example, in 2013, Trump wrote that he “cannot believe that the Republicans are extending the debt ceiling – I am a Republican & I am embarrassed.”
“Wise words,” Musk commented.
Speaking later from the Oval Office, Trump said he was “very disappointed” with Musk’s reaction, suggesting the Tesla CEO turned on the bill only after learning that the measure would cut subsidies for electric vehicles.
Musk responded by accusing the president of “ingratitude,” saying Trump wouldn’t have won the White House last year, nor would Republicans control both chambers of Congress, without his help.
Musk and the deficit hawks aren’t Trump’s only headache. Moderates in the Senate such as Maine’s Susan Collins, who is on the ballot in 2026, and even some red-state conservatives such as Missouri’s Josh Hawley have raised alarms over the measure’s proposed cuts to Medicaid. (The CBO estimates that nearly 11 million individuals could lose access to health insurance under the version that passed the House.)
Democrats believe the public has already soured on the budget reconciliation bill. A new online survey of nearly 20,000 voters conducted for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee found that just a quarter of voters believed the bill would help them or their families.
Democrats tested a series of messages and found that “the GOP’s Big, Ugly Bill presents unique challenges and clear vulnerabilities for Congressional Republicans ahead of the 2026 elections,” reads a memo drafted by the party committees. “Messages that highlight GOP plans to cut key programs like Medicare and Medicaid — and demonstrate Democrats’ commitment to protecting working families and the benefits they’ve earned — are consistently the most effective.”
Starting gate
Alumni reunion: As Trump tries to unwind much of his Democratic predecessor’s agenda, a handful of former federal employees who helped carry out the Biden administration’s policy priorities are seeking House seats in 2026. They are mostly competing in battleground districts and are expected to face competitive primaries.
Primary season: New Jersey voters will pick their nominees for governor on Tuesday ahead of the November election. Six Democrats, including Reps. Mikie Sherrill and Josh Gottheimer, are hoping to reverse the state’s rightward shift in last year’s presidential election, while former state Assemblyman Jack Ciattarelli, who narrowly lost to outgoing Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy in 2021, is the front-runner among Republicans and has Trump’s endorsement.
Special election set: The special election to complete the late Virginia Rep. Gerald E. Connolly’s term will take place on Sept. 9, Gov. Glenn Youngkin announced this week. The Washington Post reported that Democrats in the 11th District will hold a so-called firehouse primary on June 28 to pick their nominee for the deep-blue seat, while Republicans will hold a canvass either later this month or in early July.
#NYGOV: New York Lt. Gov. Antonio Delgado has launched a bid to oust his boss, Gov. Kathy Hochul, in a rare primary challenge from a state’s second-in-command. The Democratic Governors Association said in a statement that Hochul has the group’s support. “For years, Governor Hochul has been underestimated — and each time proved her critics wrong,” said DGA executive director Meghan Meehan-Draper.
He’s running: Iowa Democratic state Rep. J.D. Scholten jumped into the race to unseat Republican Sen. Joni Ernst this week. The former two-time congressional candidate said he was motivated by the senator’s recent comment that “we’re all going to die” in response to a constituent’s concerns about potential Medicaid cuts.
Biden probe: Trump has ordered an investigation into possible malfeasance in the administration of his predecessor, Joe Biden, related to the former president’s health. A presidential memorandum that Trump signed Wednesday questions Biden’s use of an autopen, including for signing policy documents and pardons. Biden responded by calling the move a “distraction” and said allegations that he wasn’t calling the shots as president were “ridiculous and false.”
ICYMI
Jolly is in: Former Republican Rep. David Jolly, a noted Trump critic who registered as a Democrat earlier this year, is running for Florida governor. Jolly will be a decided underdog in the race to succeed term-limited GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis in a state that has shifted right in recent cycles. Republican Rep. Byron Donalds entered the race in February with Trump’s endorsement.
Bacon challenger: Nebraska state Sen. John Cavanaugh, a Democrat from Omaha, is running for the House seat currently held by Rep. Don Bacon, one of the most targeted GOP incumbents. While the 2nd District, nicknamed the “blue dot,” has delivered its single Electoral College vote to Democrats in the past two presidential elections, Bacon has beaten back a string of highly funded challengers since his first election in 2016.
Underwater in the Ocean State: Trump’s approval rating in Rhode Island dipped to 37 percent, but the Republican president is still far more popular than the state’s Democratic governor, Dan McKee, according to a recent poll by the University of New Hampshire Survey Center. Just 19 percent of voters approved of McKee’s performance. Other New England governors, including Democrats Ned Lamont of Connecticut and Maura Healey of Massachusetts and New Hampshire Republican Kelly Ayotte, all enjoyed job approval ratings around 50 percent.
Guv roundup: Iowa state Rep. Eddie Andrews has entered what could soon become a crowded Republican primary to succeed retiring Gov. Kim Reynolds, while longtime political operative Julie Stauch threw her hat in the ring for the Democratic nomination. In Georgia, state Rep. Derrick Jackson is the latest Democrat to enter the race to succeed term-limited Republican incumbent Brian Kemp. In South Carolina, Democratic state Rep. Jermaine Johnson is exploring a bid for the open governor’s race, while GOP Rep. Ralph Norman tells Punchbowl News he expects to decide on a bid within two to three weeks. In Pennsylvania, GOP Rep. Dan Meuser, who is weighing a challenge to Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro, has received a preliminary endorsement from Donald Trump. And in New Mexico, former Interior Secretary Deb Haaland drew another opponent in the Democratic primary, with former Las Cruces Mayor Ken Miyagishima entering the race last week.
Endorsement watch: Equality PAC, the political arm of the Congressional Equality Caucus, which backs Democratic LGBTQ candidates, has endorsed several House candidates. They include Marine veteran JoAnna Mendoza, who is challenging Republican Rep. Juan Ciscomani in Arizona, and a pair of Michiganders seeking Detroit-area open seats: state Sen. Jeremy Moss, who is running to succeed Democratic Rep. Haley Stevens, and Eric Chung, an attorney who worked in the Biden Commerce Department and is trying to flip the seat being vacated by GOP gubernatorial hopeful John James. Meanwhile, the moderate Blue Dog Coalition has made its first endorsement of the 2026 cycle, backing Democrat Rebecca Cooke to take on GOP Rep. Derrick Van Orden in Wisconsin. This is Cooke’s third attempt to win the seat.
Mayoral watch: New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has endorsed Zohran Mamdani for New York City mayor, telling The New York Times that the Democratic state assemblyman “has demonstrated a real ability on the ground to put together a coalition of working-class New Yorkers that is strongest to lead the pack.” Mamdani is running in the crowded June 24 primary that will be decided by ranked-choice voting and includes former Gov. Andrew Cuomo and New York City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams.
Joining the field: New Hampshire Democrat Carleigh Beriont, vice chair of the select board for the town of Hampton, has joined the race for the open 1st District, which Democratic Rep. Chris Pappas is vacating to run for Senate. Democratic state Rep. Alice Wade, who would be the second transgender member of Congress if elected, has formed an exploratory committee. Democrats Stefany Shaheen and Maura Sullivan are already running.
Nathan’s notes
The fight over potential Medicaid cuts is poised to be a key point of debate in the 2026 midterm elections, writes Roll Call elections analyst Nathan L. Gonzales of Inside Elections.
Republicans hope the changes to Medicaid in their budget reconciliation bill will prove politically popular, while Democrats expect the cuts to jeopardize the GOP’s control of Washington. Which side will have the winning argument? Only time and the voters will decide that, Nathan writes.
What we’re reading
Who’s callin’ my phone? The Atlantic looks at the national security implications swirling around Trump’s personal cellphone.
My old Kentucky home: A most unlikely trio of Kentucky Republicans — Sens. Rand Paul and Mitch McConnell, along with Rep. Thomas Massie — are proving to be three of the very few GOP officeholders rebuffing key parts of the Trump agenda, writes Paul Kane of The Washington Post.
Crypto cash: Punchbowl News reports that Michigan Senate candidate Mike Rogers will have a new ally in next year’s campaign that he didn’t have in his unsuccessful 2024 bid: a new pro-crypto super PAC committing to spending millions to support the Republican’s campaign.
Remember the runoff: San Antonio holds a runoff election this weekend to decide its next mayor. Former two-time congressional candidate Gina Ortiz Jones led the first round of voting in the deep-blue city last month, but as The Texas Tribune reports, “a fragmented local party, a damaged Democratic brand and a surprising rejection of Jones among some of the city’s close-knit political elite” have raised Republican hopes and will test the endurance of the GOP’s recent gains among Latino voters.
Democratic alarm bells: As Democrats grapple with how to win back young male and working-class voters, some in the party are expressing frustrations with the latest round of consultant-aided postelection introspection, saying what Democrats need is less study and more straight talk, CNN reports.
The count: 23
That’s how many sitting House representatives have launched successful bids for governor since 2000. New Jersey Democratic Reps. Mikie Sherrill and Josh Gottheimer are each hoping to join that group this year.
The Garden State has twice elevated a sitting House member to the governor’s mansion: Republican William T. Cahill in 1969 and Democrat Jim Florio in 1989. Both held South Jersey seats in the House, and both were subsequently defeated in their bids for reelection. Cahill lost to Democrat Brendan Byrne in 1973, while Florio was ousted by Republican Christine Todd Whitman in 1993.
— By Roll Call’s Ryan Kelly
Coming up
Tuesday is primary day in New Jersey, when voters will choose their nominees for one of two open governor’s races this year.
Photo finish
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The post At the races: Big, beautiful bickering appeared first on Roll Call.
