Trump and other GOP presidential hopefuls pan debt ceiling deal

Most Republican presidential candidates are panning the deal negotiated by House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) to suspend the debt ceiling, including the GOP front-runner, former president Donald Trump, who said he would have allowed the country to default.

“Well, it is what it is, it was going to pass,” Trump told Des Moines 1040 WHO radio host Simon Conway, adding that “we’ll get it fixed and will get it fixed properly in two years.” Asked about his recent CNN town hall comments about letting a default happen, he said, “I would have done that.”

When Sen Tim Scott (R-S.C.) was asked Wednesday if he supports the legislation that McCarthy negotiated with President Biden that was unveiled over the weekend, he said “The short answer is no.”

Scott, speaking at an event hosted by Axios, sought to avoid directly criticizing McCarthy, saying he “did a good job of figuring out how to negotiate with someone who did not want to negotiate.” But Scott made clear he wasn’t happy with the outcome.

“Is it in our best interest as a nation to allow Joe Biden, someone who we cannot trust on spending, to have an open checkbook, no limit on the credit card, until the end of his term?” Scott asked. “My answer is no.”

Scott’s posture puts him at odds with the Republican leader of his chamber, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.), who said Wednesday that he is “proud to support” the deal.

But Scott’s criticism echoed that of several other White House hopefuls, including Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) and former U.N. ambassador Nikki Haley. Former vice president Mike Pence, who has yet to formally announce a 2024 presidential bid, has also come out against the deal, calling it too timid.

“The United States is staring down a debt crisis over the next 25 years that’s driven by entitlements, and nobody in Washington, D.C., wants to talk about it,” Pence said in a statement Tuesday. “Congress’ debt limit deal doesn’t just kick the can down the road, it uses Washington smoke and mirror games to make small reforms while weakening our military at a time of increasing threats from foreign adversaries.”

The deal brokered by McCarthy and Biden would preserve the country’s ability to borrow money into 2025, reset the budgets at a broad swath of federal agencies and institute new work requirements on some Americans who receive federal nutrition assistance known as food stamps.

The bill passed the House Wednesday night, despite criticism from far-right Republicans, who have blasted McCarthy for compromising with Biden and not securing steeper spending cuts.

A debt ceiling deal that would cut spending has removed the possibility of default but could have political ramifications. The Post’s Aaron Blake explains. (Video: JM Rieger/The Washington Post, Photo: Demetrius Freeman/The Washington Post)

During the CNN town hall event earlier this month, Trump argued that Republicans should use the deal ceiling as leverage to roll back many of Biden’s spending priorities.

“If they don’t, … you’ll have to default,” Trump said. He suggested the consequences of a default could lead to “a bad week or a bad day.”

During Trump’s presidency, the debt ceiling was raised three times by Congress without any preconditions.

Subsequent to the town hall appearance, Trump urged Republicans not to back down in debt negotiations with the White House, in a post on Truth Social, his social media platform.

“Republicans should not make a deal on the debt ceiling unless they get everything they want,” Trump wrote. “Do not fold!!!”

Until Wednesday, Trump had been publicly silent since the contours of the deal became public Saturday — and had drawn criticism from some GOP presidential rivals for that.

At an event in Iowa on Tuesday, DeSantis told reporters that Trump should weigh in.

“I mean, are you leading from the front or are you waiting for polls to tell you what position to take,” DeSantis said when asked about Trump’s silence. “I led from the front on this. I reviewed the deal. I spoke with people I trusted, and I put out a statement saying where I stand on it, and I didn’t need to put my finger in the wind.”

During the event, DeSantis reiterated his criticisms of the proposal to raise the debt ceiling, saying “our nation was careening towards bankruptcy before the debt deal, and it will still be careening towards bankruptcy after this debt deal.”

“D.C. doesn’t produce much of anything besides mountains of debt and loads of hot air,” he said at another point in his speech, where he also touted Florida’s budget surpluses.

Deficits increased every year during the Trump presidency, driven in part by GOP tax cuts.

Haley, meanwhile, is trying to use the drama over the debt ceiling to score points against both Trump and DeSantis.

In a statement Tuesday, she noted that DeSantis, as a member of Congress, has supported legislation in 2018 raising the debt limit and that Trump, as president, signed it into law.

Haley also panned the deal cut between Biden and McCarthy.

“The best way to fix Washington’s spending addiction is to elect people who have not been part of the problem,” she said. “Adding at least $4 trillion to America’s $31 trillion national debt over two years without substantially cutting spending is no way to run our country’s fiscal affairs. Business as usual won’t get the job done.”

Hannah Knowles contributed to this report.