Trump tax-cut bill could cost $2.4 trillion, less than earlier forecast

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office on Wednesday lowered its estimate how much President Donald Trump's tax-cut and spending bill will add to the national debt, saying it would add about $2.4 trillion to the nation's $36.2 trillion in liabilities.

The new assessment comes a day after key Trump ally Elon Musk blasted the bill as a "disgusting abomination," giving fresh support to Republican deficit hawks who have been pushing back against the measure.

An earlier CBO estimate predicted the Republican bill, which passed on May 22 with no Democratic support, would add around $3.8 trillion to Washington's debt over the next decade.

The measure, now awaiting action in the Senate, aims to extend Trump's 2017 tax cut law while also achieving steep spending reductions, largely on a healthcare program for the poor.

The new CBO estimate takes into account late changes that were made to the bill as Republican leaders steered it to passage.

The White House and top congressional Republicans tried to play down the objections of Musk, who joined Trump's team with brash promises of cutting $2 trillion in spending from the federal budget, but left last week having accomplished a small fraction of that.

Republican Senate Majority Leader John Thune, speaking to reporters, tried to minimize the damage, saying, "We obviously respect everything that Elon did with DOGE. On this particular issue, we have a difference of opinion."

The updated analysis is expected to help guide the Republican-controlled Senate, which is now grappling with putting together its own version of the legislation in coming weeks.

With Republicans holding a narrow 53-47 Senate majority, warring camps within the party are vying for changes to the House-passed bill. Some have been pushing to scale back the more than $700 billion in savings to Medicaid or to remove costly Trump-backed tax cuts for those earning overtime pay and tipped wages or income from Social Security retirement payments.

(Reporting by Richard Cowan; Editing by Scott Malone)