Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said Elon Musk should put his resources toward pushing for congressional term limits and a balanced budget rather than forming a new political party.
Musk should focus on getting state legislatures to join Florida in calling for a constitutional amendment that requires Congress to pass a balanced budget, according to DeSantis. The governor said that dozens of states have formally petitioned Congress to draft a balanced budget amendment under Article V of the Constitution.
DeSantis also stressed the importance of term limits for members of Congress.
The governor also said that he doesn’t believe “electing a few new people is going to change the trajectory” in Washington because incentives are needed regardless of the outcome of the elections.
DeSantis, a Republican, said there is “a problem” within his party because too many Republicans promise to tackle spending in campaign rhetoric but don’t follow through with that promise once elected. Those Republicans should be exposed and targeted during primary campaigns, DeSantis suggested.
“Elon was doing DOGE and a lot of Congress didn’t want anything to do with actually adopting the DOGE cuts, just like they didn’t want to adopt the Trump executive orders on immigration and all these other things, which I think you have to adopt in law if you want them to have staying power,” DeSantis said.
The governor’s political advice comes after Musk formed the new “American Party” to compete against the Republican and Democratic parties.
Musk set up the new party after expressing frustration over President Donald Trump’s spending bill.
Musk, who led Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), had called the president’s tax breaks and spending cuts package a “disgusting abomination” and warned it would increase the federal deficit by $5 trillion. The tech entrepreneur and former DOGE chief was tasked with leading the committee on targeting and eliminating waste, fraud, and abuse in the federal government.
Musk also threatened to oust every member of Congress who voted for Trump’s bill.
Trump’s signature legislation, known as the Big Beautiful Bill, was signed into law on July 4.
Musk has indicated that he would use the new America Party to get involved in the 2026 midterm elections. Musk, the world’s richest man, notably spent at least $250 million supporting Trump in his campaign for a second White House term.
DeSantis warned that launching the new political party could backfire on Republicans. If Musk-backed candidates run against Republicans in competitive state races, Democrats would win the competitive Senate and House contests.
The formation of new political parties is not uncommon, but they typically don’t pull away major support from the two established parties.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
