Billionaire former ‘first buddy’ Elon Musk has launched a fresh political firestorm with Donald Trump over the president’s colossal tax-and-spending bill, forcing Republicans into a bitter loyalty test as they try to muscle the bill over the finish line. The clash centers on the Senate ’s passage of Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBB) on Tuesday—a sweeping, multi-trillion-dollar package that bans taxes on tips and overtime pay, pours billions into border security, and balloons the national debt by a staggering $3 trillion.

Trump has ordered Congress to deliver the bill to his desk by Independence Day, this Friday, but Musk is determined to derail it, branding it ‘pork-filled and disgusting’ and vowing personally to take down any Republican who votes for it. Now allies of both titans are picking sides. Steve Bannon , a former Trump adviser turned leading MAGA media personality, has defended the president, saying Musk is ‘a clown’ who’s more concerned about Tesla ‘s renewable energy subsidies than the ballooning national debt.

Bannon has also called for Musk to be deported – something Trump said he’ll ‘look into,’ and for the billionaire’s company SpaceX to be nationalized. The world’s richest man, in turn, labeled Bannon as a ‘retarded liar.’ Musk upped the ante on Tuesday, claiming that Bannon, who went to prison after being held in contempt of Congress, will soon be going back to prison ‘for a long time.’

Though rank-and-file Republicans have largely voiced support for Trump – and his massive legislative package – the billionaire and the president’s ever-widening divide has prompted a select few conservatives to voice support for Musk. And as they do, they risk becoming an object of Trump’s ire and further cracking open an already fractured MAGA base. Running to support Musk amid the fracas with the president, Kentucky Republican Rep. Thomas Massie wrote a fawning note in support of the Tesla chief on Tuesday.

‘A large part of my job is to keep government from screwing things up for the engineers and entrepreneurs who do make this world a better place,’ he wrote. ‘I don’t think enough people appreciate the contributions you and your teams have made to civilization.’ Massie’s embrace of Musk comes as Trump has skewered the Kentuckian for opposing the OBBB, calling him a ‘grandstander.’ Trump has said he will do everything in his power to oust the Kentuckian next cycle, a pledge he has made before but failed to deliver on.

‘Massie is a very bad guy!’ Trump wrote on Tuesday. Musk, however, has taken a liking to Massie and his refusal to vote for the OBBB over fiscal concerns. In fact, the billionaire pledged to back the congressman’s reelection campaign over the weekend despite Trump’s efforts to oust the Republican. The showdown over Massie’s reelection next year could become a proving ground for the world’s most powerful man and world’s richest man.

North Carolina Sen. Thom Tillis also recently threw his support behind the SpaceX owner, following his announcement he would forgo seeking another term in 2026. Opining about how China is the world’s leader in renewable energy over the weekend, Musk expressed concern at how U.S. investment in the technology is lagging behind, seemingly a nod to the bill cutting nearly half a trillion dollars in energy subsidies. ‘Folks, [Musk] is 100 percent right, and he understands this issue better than anyone,’ Tillis wrote on X, reposting the billionaire’s concern.

‘We should take his warnings seriously,’ Tillis continued. ‘We can’t let Communist China become the long-term winner.’ The North Carolinian has been a frequent target of Trump’s after opposing the president’s mega-bill over the green energy and Medicaid cuts. After voting against advancing the OBBB on Saturday , Trump came out against the senator, writing on Truth Social, ‘Thom Tillis is making a BIG MISTAKE for America, and the Wonderful People of North Carolina!’

Free from the pressures of a primary campaign, Tillis can continue to spurn Trump without much consequence. Rep. Warren Davidson, R-Ohio, has also floated his support for Musk last week as tensions between the billionaire and Trump boiled. Davidson, who voted against the OBBB in the House, told reporters he likes both men and hopes they can reconcile their differences.

The Ohioan has so far kept his cards close to his chest about whether he will back or oppose the OBBB once it returns to the House, though he has been posting on social media about the threats of runaway spending, echoing Musk’s concerns. ‘We will eventually arrive at the crash site, because it appears nothing with stop this runaway spending train,’ Warren posted on Tuesday, seemingly indicating his concerns with its price tag. He likened the bill’s spending to ‘a fatal overdose of government.’

Conservative commentator Dinesh D’Souza appeared to broker a truce between Musk and Trump, urging that they reconcile for the good of the Republican party. ‘Trump and Musk are taking this too personally,’ he wrote on Tuesday. ‘They both have a point, but neither seems to concede the validity of what the other is saying.’ ‘We need both of them, and this fracas is only helping people who would make these problems far worse. They need a good mediator.’