Two key Republican senators are threatening to vote against President Donald Trump's "big, beautiful" tax cut and spending bill if it doesn't address their concerns about it increasing levels of debt over the next years.
The lawmakers in question are Ron Johnson and Rand Paul, who have been vocal about their opposition to the bill over the past weeks. The former reiterated his message during the weekend, saying there are enough colleagues to block the bill "unless the president gets serious about spending reduction and reducing the deficit."
Axios recalled that Johnson wants deeper cuts and has called for a return to pre-pandemic spending levels. Speaking to CNN, he made a reference to Memorial Day saying "this is the weekend we honor the service and sacrifice of the finest among us" and "I don't think they served in sacrifice to leave our children completely mortgaged."
Johnson went on to call his colleagues to be "responsible," saying the "first goal of our budget reconciliation process should be to reduce the deficit." The Congressional Budget Office has estimated that the deficit will increase by $3.8 trillion between 2026 and 2034 under the current bill. House Speaker Mike Johnson said the estimates are "dramatically overstated."
Rand Paul, on his end, said the current bill would "explode the debt." Speaking on "Fox News Sunday," Paul said cuts in the bill are "wimpy and anemic." However, he said he would support them if they weren't going to "explode the debt." "The math doesn't add up," said Paul, who has called to remove the $4 trillion debt limit hike saying it's "not conservative."
"There's got to be someone left in Washington who thinks debt is wrong and deficits are wrong and wants to go in the other direction," Paul said. "Somebody has to stand up and yell, 'The emperor has no clothes,'" he added, criticizing those "falling in lockstep on this, pass the 'big, beautiful bill,' don't question anything."
© 2025 Latin Times. All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
