Visibly annoying and smiling eerily, Leavitt snapped at a reporter for asking about Musk’s sudden departure after criticising Trump’s ‘Big, Beautiful Bill’

Leavitt snapped at a reporter during today’s press conference when she was repeatedly asked to comment on Elon Musk’s departure (
Image: AP)

Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt smiled eerily and shot back when a reporter pressed her to comment on Elon Musk’s statements that Trump’s proposed budget would cause a deficit.

Leavitt was asked what President Trump thought about Elon Musk’s recent comments that the ‘Big Beautiful Bill’ is simply a “massive spending bill” that increases the federal deficit and “undermines the work” of his Department of Government Efficiency.

After dodging the question, Leavitt was asked again, at which point she stormed at the reporter. “I told you that this bill saves $1.6 trillion according to the Council of Economic Advisers, and the analysis is that the president believes that comment doesn’t mean it’s not a comment, Rachel,” snapped Leavitt.

Leavitt rolled into the press conference out of breath but snapped back quickly ( 
Image:
AP)

After disagreeing with Trump and speaking publicly on the bill, Elon Musk is leaving his government role as a top adviser to President Donald Trump after spearheading efforts to reduce and overhaul the federal bureaucracy.

His departure, announced Wednesday evening, marks the end of a turbulent chapter that included thousands of layoffs, the evisceration of government agencies, and reams of litigation. Despite the upheaval, the billionaire entrepreneur struggled in Washington’s unfamiliar environment, accomplishing far less than he hoped.

“I think a bill can be big or it could be beautiful,” Musk said. “But I don’t know if it could be both.”

Leavitt also praised Musk, avoiding any rumors of a fallout. “Of course, as you know, Elon Musk announced last night his departure as an official special government employee from the We thank him for getting Doge off the ground in the Efforts to cut waste fraud and abuse will continue,” she said.

Trump, speaking in the Oval Office on Wednesday, defended his agenda by talking about the delicate politics involved with negotiating the legislation. “I’m not happy about certain aspects of it, but I’m thrilled by other aspects of it,” he said.

Trump also suggested that more changes could be made. “We’re going to see what happens,” he said. “It’s got a way to go.”

While Musk hasn’t addressed a “falling out” directly, he took to his own platform, X, on Wednesday night (May 28) to retweet a statement to the contrary. The tweet, from an “American Supremacist” profile, stated: “Legacy media is trying to frame Elon’s departure from DOGE as the result of a falling out with Trump. Elon was a special government employee. Special government employees can serve 130 days. 130 days after January 20th is May 30th, this Friday.”

Meanwhile in a separate message on the platform, Musk later appeared to shut down rumors of a spat: “As my scheduled time as a Special Government Employee comes to an end, I would like to thank President Donald Trump for the opportunity to reduce wasteful spending. The DOGE mission will only strengthen over time as it becomes a way of life throughout the government.”