Musk announces "America Party" after Trump feud over spending bill

EMElon Musk announced formation of the "America Party" on July 5, 2025 (not July 6), after conducting a Twitter/X poll on July 4 where 65.4% of nearly 1.25 million respondents voted for "independence from the two-party system." However, Musk has taken no verified steps to build formal party infrastructure—no official FEC paperwork filed by Musk himself, no state party organizations established, no platform published, and no candidates recruited. Multiple fraudulent FEC filings appeared on July 6 from imposters, which Musk disavowed, telling the FEC "This filing is false." Political experts estimate creating a viable third party requires $100+ million just for 50-state ballot access and could take 10 years to become competitive.

The Trump-Musk split erupted over the "One Big Beautiful Bill Act," a $3.3 trillion reconciliation package combining tax cuts, spending increases, and a record $5 trillion debt ceiling increase. On June 3, 2025, Musk called the bill a "disgusting abomination" and warned it would "bankrupt America," directly contradicting his former role leading the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) from January 20 to May 30, 2025. The bill passed the Senate 51-50 on July 1 with Vice President JVJD Vance casting the tiebreaking vote, and the House 218-214 on July 3, before Trump signed it into law on July 4, 2025. The Congressional Budget Office estimated the bill would add $3.4 to $3.8 trillion to federal deficits over 10 years, despite Republican claims of "fiscal responsibility."

Musk spent at least $290 million helping elect Donald Trump in 2024, making him the largest political donor in the election cycle, before turning against Trump just months into his second term. Musk contributed nearly $239 million to America PAC, his primary super PAC backing Trump, including $120 million in the final weeks of the race. He also solely funded the $20.5 million RBG PAC, which aired ads claiming Trump opposed federal abortion bans, plus $10 million to the Senate Leadership Fund and $3 million to Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s MAHA Alliance PAC. After the spending bill feud, Musk donated an additional $15 million to Republican super PACs on June 27, 2025—just days before announcing the America Party—demonstrating how billionaire donors can simultaneously fund and threaten both major parties.

Trump retaliated against Musk's criticism by threatening to "terminate Elon's Governmental Subsidies and Contracts" on June 5, 2025, via Truth Social post. This threat targeted Musk's business empire, which holds approximately $22 billion in government contracts across SpaceX, Tesla, and Starlink—the vast majority ($15+ billion) from NASA for Commercial Crew, Artemis lunar missions, and Starlink services, plus billions more from Department of Defense for national security space launches. In April 2025, the Space Force awarded SpaceX roughly $5.9 billion for 28 launches through 2029 under the National Security Space Launch Phase 3 program. The 🌲Washington Post calculated Musk's companies have received at least $38 billion in government contracts, loans, subsidies, and tax credits since 2003, making Trump's procurement threat a potent political weapon.

Musk threatened to support primary challengers against Republicans who voted for the spending bill, specifically targeting Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) and Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC). Musk wrote on X: "Every member of Congress who campaigned on reducing government spending and then immediately voted for the biggest debt increase in history should hang their head in shame! And they will lose their primary next year if it is the last thing I do on this Earth." Thom Tillis subsequently announced he would not seek reelection in 2026, though he denied Musk's threats influenced his decision. This demonstrates how billionaire donors can shape congressional behavior through threatened primary spending—even without formal party structures.

The One Big Beautiful Bill raised the debt ceiling by $5 trillion to $41.1 trillion, the largest single debt ceiling increase in U.S. history, allowing the government to continue borrowing through at least 2028. Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) opposed the bill specifically because of this provision, stating "Something doesn't really add up here, and I can't be on record as being one who supports increasing the debt by $5 trillion." Rand Paul publicly agreed with Musk's criticism, writing on X: "We have both seen the massive waste in government spending and we know another $5 trillion in debt is a huge mistake." The bill also permanently extended the 2017 Trump tax cuts worth approximately $4.46 trillion in reduced tax revenue over 10 years, and eliminated the electric vehicle tax credit as of September 30, 2025—a policy shift that JPMorgan estimated would cost Tesla $1.2 billion annually, despite Musk having previously advocated for ending EV subsidies.

Musk departed his role leading the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) on May 30, 2025, after his 130-day term as a "special government employee" expired. His tenure was marked by legal setbacks including a federal court ruling allowing a lawsuit challenging DOGE's authority to proceed, overstated savings claims, and little evidence of improved government efficiency. Musk had promised DOGE would cut $1 trillion from the federal budget, but the reconciliation bill he later criticized as fiscally irresponsible passed just weeks after his departure. This timeline reveals how Musk's government role ended in failure, potentially motivating his subsequent political turn against Trump and formation of the America Party as an alternative avenue for influencing federal policy.