Members of Congress are sitting back and watching the show.
The bromance that’s captivated Washington for months — President Trump and Elon Musk — blew up on Thursday, a breakup between the world’s most powerful man and richest person that is leaving the White House’s legislative agenda hanging in the balance.
The implosion played out in public: Trump — in his first remarks since Musk trashed the “big, beautiful bill” as “a disgusting abomination” — said “Elon and I had a great relationship; I don’t know if we will anymore” and suggested his opposition was rooted in the legislation’s elimination of incentives for electric vehicles. Musk called that statement “false.”
And it unraveled from there. Musk went on a tirade against Trump on X, the social platform he owns, arguing Republicans would not have won elections in November without his help, backing Trump’s impeachment, and claiming that the president is included in the Epstein files — which is the reason they have not been released in full.
Trump, meanwhile, took to his social media platform, Truth Social, to call Musk “crazy” and threaten to terminate his government subsidies and contracts.
Lawmakers on Capitol Hill, meanwhile, are basking in watching the breakup play out on the big screen. Some are offering solutions for working through the drama.
Sen. Tina Smith (D-Minn.) shared a Spotify playlist named “the ultimate breakup playlist” on X, writing “Thought you could use this @realDonaldTrump.”
“Break ups are really hard but I sure do love watching the one between … Trump and Musk play out publicly,” she added in a separate post.
Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-Fla.), meanwhile, is looking to take the drama from C-SPAN to Bravo: The Florida Democrat made a public plea to Andy Cohen to host a reunion episode for “The Real Housewives of the West Wing,” featuring Trump, Musk and a host of other top administration officials.
“So @Andy and @BravoTV Can you produce the Reunion show?” he wrote on X. “Only @Andy can solve this.”
The famed reality television guru, for his part, is in: “LET ME HOST THE REUNION!” Cohen wrote on X, with an American flag emoji.
The unsolicited offering of ideas was not limited to Democrats. Rep. Warren Davidson (R-Ohio), who was one of two Republicans to vote against the megabill last month — and praised Musk’s criticism of the legislation — wrote on X, “I would love to host a private dinner among friends,” inviting Trump, Musk, Vice President Vance, Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) and Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), the other GOP “no” vote.
“Tomorrow night, maybe?” he quipped.
The menu is already set — “probably some red meat,” Davidson later told reporters — and at least one guest is in, under one condition.
“As long as he takes all the sharp silverware off the table I’ll be there,” Massie said. “We need sporks.”
Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (N.Y.) summed up the sentiment among several lawmakers with a short post in response to Musk’s claim about the GOP’s election victories featuring just the popcorn emoji. In a separate post, he channeled Taylor Swift: “Siri, play ‘Bad Blood.’”
The rift between Trump and Musk had been highly anticipated on Capitol Hill, with onlookers inside Washington privately predicting how long the two influential individuals and their egos would be able to work together.
The break began last week when Musk said he was “disappointed” by the bill; it heated up on Monday — fresh off his White House tenure — when he called the measure “a disgusting abomination;” and it boiled over on Thursday, when the political attacks on the legislation took a personal turn to Trump.
For some, the alliance lasted longer than anticipated.
“They got along longer than I expected!” said one House Republican.
The feud, however, is coming at an inopportune moment for Republicans: Party leaders are still pushing to approve their sprawling tax cut and spending package by July 4, less than a month away, and the heated back-and-forth is emerging as a distraction from that effort.
Some lawmakers are trying to refocus the conversation.
“Some are focused on the big beautiful brawl — but every one in Congress should be focused on making the Big Beautiful Bill better,” Rep. Andy Ogles (R-Tenn.), who is pushing for changes to the bill, wrote on X.
Other members, meanwhile, opted to stay on the sidelines of the heated battle, leaving it to Trump and Musk.
“Ma’am, I have a rule,” Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) told CNN. “I never get between a dog and a fire hydrant.”
“I read a chapter in Proverbs everyday and King Solomon advised staying out of other people’s arguments,” Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.) echoed on X.
