Rep. Jodey Arrington (R-Texas) was confronted Tuesday over the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, not because it was surprising to see a Republican support increased spending — but because Arrington himself recently urged Americans to tackle the U.S. debt.
The House Budget Committee chairman was grilled by Rep. Joe Neguse (D-Colo.) during a House Rules Committee hearing. The Democrat asked Arrington about the public criticisms of the bill from President Donald Trump’s former adviser Elon Musk.
“You think he’s wrong?” Neguse inquired about Musk’s apparent fiscal concerns.
“No, I think he has sincerely held convictions about the runaway spending,” said Arrington.
Musk spearheaded the Trump administration’s so-called Department of Government Efficiency and helped fire thousands of federal staffers with the stated aim of cutting wasteful public spending, but broke with Trump over the GOP’s massive tax cut bill.
Neguse asked Tuesday why Arrington doesn’t follow Musk’s lead, only for the Texan to claim he doesn’t follow “any man” and listens solely to his conscience. It was at this moment that Arrington unwittingly walked right into a carefully laid trap.
“You don’t follow any man? Let me read you a quote,” Neguse said. “Let me finish this quote, I’ll read it to you, then you can respond. This is from your website on May 29. Quote, now this is the headline, ‘Arrington Applauds Elon Musk’s Leadership.’”
The item, which warns about “the looming threat of a debt crisis,” is indeed still online.
Neguse continued Tuesday, “And the quote here is, ‘We should not only appreciate Elon’s courageous leadership, but follow it by holding Washington accountable, rooting out waste, restoring fiscal sanity before the debt burden crushes the future of this great nation.’”
The One Big Beautiful Bill Act is projected to add more than $3 trillion to the national debt.
Nearly every single Republican voted for the bill on its first pass through the House; a Senate version was approved Tuesday in the upper chamber and awaits a House vote. Neguse couldn’t help but reiterate that Arrington urged his constituents only weeks ago to follow Musk’s lead, however, and told him “it’s a different tune you’re singing today.”
“No, it’s not,” Arrington argued. “We cut twice the amount of spending that has ever been reduced in the people’s government.”
“So if you’re looking to make the argument that this bill isn’t perfect when it comes to any principle, including fiscal discipline, you win,” he conceded.
Neguse responded: “Well, I appreciate that.”
