"I think a bill can be big or it can be beautiful," Musk told CBS News. "But I don't know if it can be both."

Trump’s so-called Big, Beautiful Bill largely ignores the recommendations of DOGE and does little to reduce the menacing debt created by decades of politicians from both parties kicking the can down the road regarding fiscal responsibility.

The federal government has a spending and waste problem. There are many ways to achieve the efficient delivery of Constitutionally-mandated government services. The first is eliminating waste and duplication of services not mandated by the Constitution. The Tenth Amendment grants the states the power to create programs to deal with state issues at a level where the problems and solutions are closer to the people.

I think that Musk's strongest skill (at least within government) is diagnosing problems that people within the DC Swamp might not see or choose to ignore. The underwhelming performance of DOGE as a cost-cutting entity has several causes, but Musk was right when he said federal spending needs to be slashed and that the government wastes too much He's right, again, to say that the Big Beautiful Bill makes those problems worse.