Republicans express concern over debt ceiling increase
WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) – Several Senate Republicans have said they will vote no on President Donald Trump's 'Big Beautiful Bill' because of the debt ceiling increase passed through the House bill.
The House bill raises the debt limit by $5 trillion.
House Budget Committee Chairman Jodey Arrington (R-Texas.) said Senate Republicans are discussing how much to raise the debt ceiling, uncomfortable with the $5 trillion increase.
The national debt sits at $36 trillion, according to the U.S. Department of Treasury. In Fiscal Year 2024, the U.S. spent $1.8 trillion more than it earned.
Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security accounted for nearly $3 trillion of the federal budget last year.
'Fiscal hawks, like myself, don't want the President to say we won't touch these programs,' said Rep. Pete Sessions (R-Texas.). 'This is the issue today. Most people have no clue on how to even create a balanced budget.'
Republicans tried, in the Big Beautiful Bill, to cut $1.5 trillion in spending. The White House sent Congress a package to cut $9.4 billion in federal spending this year.
'The theory behind this, and it has worked, is we grow the economy. We get people back to work,' Sessions said.
President Donald Trump said tariffs could help with the national debt. Sessions said, he's against tariffs because they raise prices on American consumers, but he didn't run for President.
Democrats said the Big Beautiful Bill cuts vital programs while lowering taxes for the wealthy.
'That is reckless and irresponsible to explode the deficit by more than $3 trillion and that could potentially set our country on a path toward bankruptcy,' said Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), the House Minority Leader.
Last year, the U.S. spent more money on interest on the national debt than on defense.
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