Musk Forming New Political Party       07/07 06:10

   

   BRIDGEWATER, N.J. (AP) -- Elon Musk said he's carrying out his threat to 
form a new political party after his fissure with President Donald Trump, 
announcing the America Party in response to the president's sweeping tax cuts 
law.

   Musk, once an ever-present ally to Trump as he headed up the slashing agency 
known as the Department of Government Efficiency, broke with the Republican 
president over his signature legislation, which was signed into law Friday.

   As the bill made its way through Congress, Musk threatened to form the 
"America Party" if "this insane spending bill passes."

   "When it comes to bankrupting our country with waste & graft, we live in a 
one-party system, not a democracy," Musk said Saturday on X, the social media 
company he owns. "Today, the America Party is formed to give you back your 
freedom."

   Asked about the effort by reporters on Sunday afternoon as he prepared to 
return to Washington from his home in New Jersey, Trump called Musk's 
proposition "ridiculous," going on to tout "tremendous success with the 
Republican Party."

   "The Democrats have lost their way, but it's always been a two-party 
system," Trump added. "And I think starting a third party just adds to 
confusion. It really seems to have been developed for two parties." Third 
parties, Trump said, have never worked.

   The formation of new political parties is not uncommon, but they typically 
struggle to pull any significant support away from the Republican and 
Democratic parties. But Musk, the world's richest man who spent at least $250 
million supporting Trump in the 2024 election, could impact the 2026 elections 
determining control of Congress if he is willing to spend significant amounts 
of money.

   His reignited feud with the president could also be costly for Musk, whose 
businesses rely on billions of dollars in government contracts and publicly 
traded company Tesla has taken a hit in the market.

   It wasn't clear whether Musk had taken steps to formally create the new 
political party. Spokespeople for Musk and his political action committee, 
America PAC, didn't immediately comment Sunday.

   As of Sunday morning, there were multiple political parties listed in the 
Federal Election Commission database that had been formed in the hours since 
Musk's Saturday X post with versions of "America Party" of "DOGE" or "X" in the 
name, or Musk listed among people affiliated with the entity.

   But none appeared to be authentic, listing contacts for the organization as 
email addresses such as " wentsnowboarding@yahoo.com " or untraceable 
Protonmail addresses.

   Musk on Sunday spent the morning on X taking feedback from users about the 
party and indicated he'd use the party to get involved in the 2026 midterm 
elections.

   Last month, he threatened to try to oust every member of Congress that voted 
for Trump's bill. Musk had called the tax breaks and spending cuts package a 
"disgusting abomination," warning it would increase the federal deficit, among 
other critiques.

   "The Republican Party has a clean sweep of the executive, legislative and 
judicial branches and STILL had the nerve to massively increase the size of 
government, expanding the national debt by a record FIVE TRILLION DOLLARS," 
Musk said Sunday on X.

   His critiques of the bill and move to form a political party mark a reversal 
from May, when his time in the White House was winding down and the head of 
rocket company SpaceX and electric vehicle maker Tesla said he would spend "a 
lot less" on politics in the future.

   Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who clashed with Musk while he ran DOGE, 
said on CNN's "State of the Union" on Sunday that DOGE's "principles" were 
popular but "if you look at the polling, Elon was not."

   "I imagine that those board of directors did not like this announcement 
yesterday and will be encouraging him to focus on his business activities, not 
his political activities," he said.