Billionaire Elon Musk announced on Saturday that he’s forming a new political party—the America Party—following a public split (not to say spat) with President Trump over the “Big Beautiful” budget bill. “When it comes to bankrupting our country with waste & graft, we live in a one-party system, not a democracy. Today, the America Party is formed to give you back your freedom,” Musk posted on X, calling the bill fiscally reckless.
Musk, the former top donor to the Trump campaign and his adviser on government efficiency, broke ranks over concerns the legislation would add trillions to the deficit. Though he briefly backtracked, tensions reignited as the bill passed and the U.S. President signed it into law on July 4th—the American Independence Day.
The party, Musk says, will focus on fiscal conservatism. He aims to raise candidates to participate in select House and Senate races during next year’s midterms and “laser-focus on just 2 or 3 Senate seats and 8 to 10 House districts,” Musk wrote on X on Friday. “Given the razor-thin legislative margins, that would be enough to serve as the deciding vote on contentious laws, ensuring that they serve the true will of the people.”
Despite overlapping social views, Musk warned Republican spending plans would create “debt slavery.”
Third-party efforts in U.S. history have rarely succeeded. Ross Perot made a notable run in 1992 but failed to win any states. A new fiscally conservative party would likely split the Republican vote, eventually benefiting the Democrats.
