Trump’s spending bill, aptly titled the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” passed the House on May 22. It currently sits in the Senate, its future uncertain after Elon Musk, Rand Paul, and Thomas Massie denounced it, citing fiscal irresponsibility. According to reporting from The Hill, there is a good chance that three Republican senators could vote against the legislation, which would be enough to derail it.

That would be a shame. Contrary to the claims of its detractors, the Big Beautiful Bill is excellent in many ways. Without it, Trump cannot fulfill the mandate given to him by the American people.

Immigration was a central issue in the 2024 campaign. Indeed, 53 percent of Republican voters cited it as their biggest reason for supporting Trump, according to post-election analysis from Navigator Research. Given the fact that the Biden administration let in millions of illegals during his first and only term, that should come as no surprise.

But cleaning up Biden’s immigration mess is no small order. There are many obstacles this administration must overcome to achieve the goal of deporting millions of illegals. One of the biggest obstacles is funding. Deportations are expensive.

The Big Beautiful Bill solves that. It provides Immigration and Customs Enforcement with $75 billion in supplemental funding over the next four years. This includes $45 billion for immigration detention facilities, an 800 percent increase compared to FY2024; $14.4 billion for the transportation and removal of illegal aliens; $10 billion for hiring 10,000 new ICE personnel, including officers and agents; and $2.4 billion for partnerships with state and local authorities.

The BBB provides $60 billion to U.S. Customs and Border Protection, which will use the funds to upgrade its facilities, purchase new technology, and hire 8,000 new personnel. According to the White House, this funding will also be used to construct “701 miles of primary wall, 900 miles of river barriers, 629 miles of secondary barriers, and 141 miles of vehicle and pedestrian barriers.”

It looks like Trump’s border wall—that iconic centerpiece of his 2016 campaign—will be completed after all. Promises made, promises kept.

The Big Beautiful Bill will fund other parts of Trump’s agenda as well. It prevents Trump’s 2017 tax cuts from expiring, which spurs economic growth and saves the average American family $1,700 per year. It also cracks down on welfare abuse in several ways, such as introducing work requirements for Medicaid and Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program benefits.

To be clear, the BBB isn’t perfect. If it were up to me, I would provide even more funding to immigration enforcement, cut taxes even more, and crack down even harder on welfare abuse. But politics, per Bismarck, is the art of the possible. And this bill is close to as good as it gets without departing from the realm of possibility.

But to Elon Musk, who recently departed D.C. to focus on his businesses, the Big Beautiful Bill is unacceptable. “I’m sorry, but I just can’t stand it anymore,” Elon posted on Monday. “This massive, outrageous, pork-filled Congressional spending bill is a disgusting abomination.” He has doubled down in the following days, going so far as to characterize the bill as “debt slavery for the American people.”

But is it really debt slavery? As White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller pointed out, the bill actually cuts spending:

One of the bigger points of confusion on the BBB is spending vs tax cuts. The lefty CBO says extending the 2017 tax cuts (preventing their expiration) increases the deficit. Some critics have seen this figure and claimed or implied the bill increases *spending.* Even according to CBO, the bill cuts spending over $1.6 trillion. So when a libertarian (eg Rand) attacks the “deficit” impact of the bill they are attacking the tax cut. Of course, honestly accounted, extending current tax rates has zero deficit impact which is why the bill, because of its spending cuts, reduces the deficit.

That said, there are certainly valid concerns about government spending and the national debt. Yet Elon’s decision to denounce the BBB for those reasons is questionable, given that it is the best spending bill conservatives have seen in decades.

One cannot help but wonder if there is something else going on.

Unfortunately, that appears to be the case. Axios published an article on Wednesday claiming Elon was upset about BBB’s cuts to the electric vehicle tax credit. Tesla, which benefits from the EV tax credit, spent $240,000 lobbying for the credit. Axios also reports that Elon unsuccessfully attempted to maintain his role as a special government employee past the 130-day limit for unpaid advisory positions. Additionally, Elon allegedly was upset that his ally Jared Isaacman was passed over for NASA administrator and that the Federal Aviation Administration turned down a proposal to use Starlink.

Musk’s displeasure with the bill culminated in a full-blown meltdown on June 5, when he spent the day lashing out at President Trump. At one point, he even accused Trump of being in the Epstein files, and he floated the idea of supporting a third party in future elections.

As to whether this was a temporary outburst or the beginning of a more permanent turn against MAGA, no one can say. But we can say—with much certainty, in fact—that the Big Beautiful Bill must pass for Trump to implement his popular domestic agenda.