Almost everyone on the Hill is talking about President Donald Trump’s emotional, barb-filled split with Elon Musk. But not Hakeem Jeffries at his Friday press conference.
The House Democratic leader repeatedly turned questions about Musk back to the reconciliation bill that is currently being negotiated in the Senate. He and other Democrats have spent weeks hammering Republicans for the cuts it would make, and it was clear he didn’t want to play a part in a Musk–Trump feud eating up all the oxygen.
“I have no specific observation as it relates to Elon Musk’s situation right now relative to the threats that are being made by his former ally Donald Trump, who he helped put in the White House,” Jeffries told reporters in response to a question about how the current and future administrations would approach Musk’s ubiquitous business empire. “That will all have to play itself out.”
The dispute between Trump and Musk blew up on Thursday. What began as Musk criticizing the reconciliation bill turned into Musk alleging that Trump is stalling the release of the “Epstein files” because of ties to Jeffrey Epstein. Trump, in turn, threatened to cancel Musk’s companies’ government contracts.
Lawmakers on the Hill were aghast at the fiery exchange, much like everyone else in politics, and gave varying reactions from stern rebukes of Musk to bewildered guesses about the implications of Musk and Trump’s falling out.
As Trump and Musk’s feud escalated on Thursday, Jeffries weighed in.
“Wow,” he wrote on X. “This is turning into an all out MAGA war.”
He also mocked Republicans’ response to Musk and Trump’s feud during an appearance on “SPOLITICS” with Jemele Hill.
“You’ve got Donald Trump who’s one puppet master for them and Elon Musk who is the other puppet master for them, and they don’t know whose side to be on in this fight,” he said.
During his press conference on Friday, Jeffries mostly declined to engage. Instead of talking about political splits, he repeatedly brought up the reconciliation bill. He called it a “GOP tax scam” and said it would saddle “our children and grandchildren with this type of fiscal baggage that will hurt their ability to have a prosperous future.”
“It’s shameful all of this is being done so that Republicans can provide massive tax breaks to their billionaire donors, and then they want to stick the American people with the bill,” he said. “The GOP tax scam is indeed a disgusting abomination.”
At one point, a reporter asked Jeffries whether Musk should be called to House committees to testify. Jeffries stuck to his message.
“I don’t think there’s much more to add,” he said. “Right now we’re focused on killing the bill, the GOP tax scam hurts everyday Americans and rewards billionaires.”
At another point, a different reporter asked Jeffries whether Trump and Musk’s falling out creates an opportunity for Democrats to welcome Musk back to their party. Jeffries’ answer? “The opportunity that exists right now is to kill the GOP tax scam.”
Even when Jeffries was asked about how Democrats could capitalize on this moment — especially regarding Democratic messaging in the 2026 midterms — he stuck to his script.
“We have to keep the pressure on House Republicans and Senate Republicans to do the right thing and vote in the best interest of the people that they represent, which means voting against Trump’s one big, ugly bill,” Jeffries said.
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Tinashe Chingarande is a NOTUS reporter and an Allbritton Journalism Institute fellow.
This story has been updated with some of Jeffries’ Thursday comments on Musk and Trump.