House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) on Sunday defended the House version of President Trump’s budget from Sen. Rand Paul’s critique that it would dangerously increase the national debt.
Moments after an interview on “Fox News Sunday,” where the Kentucky Republican said that the bill’s spending cuts were “wimpy and anemic” and pose a threat to national security by increasing the debt, Johnson told the program that he disagrees with Paul’s premise.
“I agree wholeheartedly with what my dear friend, Rand Paul, said. I love his conviction and I share it. The national debt is … the greatest threat to our national security and deficits are a serious problem. What I think Rand is missing on this one is the fact that we are quite serious about this. This is the biggest spending cut, Shannon, in more than 30 years, we’re going to cut over $1.5 trillion in spending, and it’s a big leap forward,” Johnson said. “The last time we had a spending cut was three decades ago, and it was only 800 billion, even adjusted for inflation. This is the biggest spending cut, I think, in the history of government on planet earth. Now, is it enough? Of course not. But we have a very delicate balance and we have to start the process. I liken this to an aircraft carrier. You don’t turn an aircraft carrier on a dime. It takes a mile of open ocean. And so, it took us decades to get into this situation. This is a big step to begin to turn that aircraft carrier.”
“It sounds like his biggest objection is the fact that we are extending the debt ceiling. That’s a critically important thing to do. We have to do it. We’re not going to get any Democrats to assist on that. So, to get it through the Senate and make sure we don’t crash the U.S. economy and default on our debts for the first time in history, it has to be part of the reconciliation package. And that’s why the president, Trump, and all the other Republicans in Congress, House and Senate, understand the necessity of this,” Johnson continued. “Real quick, important point here. It does not mean that we’re going to spend more money. We’re extending the debt ceiling to show to creditors, the bond markets, the stock market, that the Congress is serious about this. President Trump is dialed in 100%. He is a visionary leader. He does not want to spend more money. And he has the same concern about the national debt that Rand Paul and I do. That’s why we’re not going to be spending to that level. We’re just sending a message to our creditors around the world that we’re serious about all of this.”
Paul told the program that he “still would support the bill, even with wimpy and anemic cuts, if they weren't going to explode the debt. The problem is, the math doesn't add up. They're going to explode the debt.”
“The House's is $4 trillion. The Senate's actually been talking about exploding the debt by $5 trillion,” Paul continued. “I think it's the greatest threat to national security, and so I think you can't do this.”
Paul had said he’d consider backing the bill if they took out the proposed $4-5 trillion debt ceiling increase.
“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. The idea that we're going to explode deficits and the projects are now looking at over $3 trillion in deficits over the next 10 years, I think, is not a serious proposal,” Paul said.