Speaker of the House Mike Johnson claims billionaire and CEO Elon Musk changed his phone number after his public falling-out with President Donald Trump.
Johnson, a Republican from Louisiana, told The New York Post he discovered the change while trying to text Musk amid the “Big, Beautiful Bill” drama. Johnson previously said Musk ghosted him after the billionaire blew up at Trump over the sweeping spending and tax bill, which cuts taxes for wealthy Americans while curbing access to healthcare and food access programs for millions.
“I sent him a long text message, and then his phone number changed, because after the blow-up, something happened with his,” Johnson told The New York Post.
“[Later I] realized I was sending it out into the ether somewhere and he never read it, so I look forward to meeting with him in person,” he added. “We got to make that right.”
Trump signed the bill on July 4. But leading up to its passage, Musk, once the president’s “first buddy,” railed against it, arguing it would increase the budget deficit by $2.5 trillion.
“I’m sorry, but I just can’t stand it anymore,” Musk wrote of Trump’s bill on June 3. “This massive, outrageous, pork-filled Congressional spending bill is a disgusting abomination.”
Musk spent several months this year leading the Department of Government Efficiency’s efforts to slash government spending. Under his leadership, DOGE laid off hundreds of thousands of federal employees, hollowed out several agencies and terminated thousands of government contracts and grants.
Musk and Trump continued to spar until June 5, when the former DOGE leader claimed the president appeared in the Epstein files.
“Time to drop the really big bomb: @realDonaldTrump is in the Epstein files,” Musk wrote. “That is the real reason they have not been made public. Have a nice day, DJT!”
Tensions appeared to ease soon afterward. Musk expressed “regret” on June 11 for the posts he made about the president, while Trump revealed he had “no hard feelings” toward Musk.
Soon after the bill was signed, the tech mogul announced that he would be forming the new “America Party.”
“When it comes to bankrupting our country with waste & graft, we live in a one-party system, not a democracy,” he wrote on X.
Trump called the idea “ridiculous.” The president also threatened to “take a look at” deporting Elon Musk to South Africa, where he was born and raised for several years.
Musk took a jab at Trump again last week when he weighed in to criticize the administration’s handling of the Epstein investigation. Musk responded to an X user who screenshotted a lengthy Truth Social post from Trump, urging his followers to drop the matter.
“This is in the running for worst post ever made,” wrote the X user.
“Seriously,” Musk responded. “He said ‘Epstein’ half a dozen times while telling everyone to stop talking about Epstein.”
“Just release the files as promised,” he added.
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