Former Freedom Caucus Chair Bob Good calls out 'the big glaring weakness for all of Republican government'
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By Alex Nitzberg
Published May 19, 2025
Former Rep. Bob Good, a Republican from Virginia who once chaired the conservative House Freedom Caucus, is sounding the alarm about America's "fiscal crisis," accusing fellow Republicans of failing to focus on the critical issue and slash spending.
He blamed "all Republican leadership," during an interview with Fox News Digital. "You're not hearing a lot from Republican leadership — from the White House or from the Congress — about spending cuts," he said.
Good praised President Donald Trump on a variety of issues, crediting the president with doing a "great job in many executive actions," but he described the moves as "quick fix sugar highs" that could easily be undone when a Democrat wins the presidency again and said that Congress has not been codifying Trump's policies into law.
He said that "the big glaring weakness for all of Republican government" is failing to focus on the nation's debt and deficit, and slashing spending.
TRUMP'S 'BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL' PASSES KEY HOUSE HURDLE AFTER GOP REBEL MUTINY
The U.S. national debt is over $36.2 trillion, according to fiscaldata.treasury.gov.
President Trump and some GOP lawmakers have been seeking to push Trump's "One, Big, Beautiful Bill" through Congress, but other Republicans have been pressing for changes.
The House Freedom Caucus issued a statement on Sunday night declaring that the measure "does not yet meet the moment."
"As written, the bill continues increased deficits in the near term with possible savings years down the road that may never materialize. Thanks to discussions over the weekend, the bill will be closer to the budget resolution framework we agreed upon in the House in April, but it fails to actually honor our promise to significantly correct the spending trajectory of the federal government and lead our nation towards a balanced budget," the caucus board's statement reads, in part, later adding, "We face a serious fiscal crisis, and we must put an end to Washington's wasteful spending now."
TRUMP'S 'BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL' WINS SUPPORT FROM POLICE FOR OVERTIME TAX ELIMINATION
Good, a fiscal hawk who has been referring to the measure as the "big, ugly bill," indicated that if Republicans do not fight now when they only need 51 votes to pass a measure in the Senate due to reconciliation, they will not do so later.
He said most GOP figures, like most Democrats, are largely focused on their own political careers and will "be even weaker" in 2026, the year of the midterm elections.
Office of Management and Budget Director Russ Vought has pushed back against criticism of the reconciliation bill.
"Critics have attacked the House's One Big Beautiful reconciliation bill on fiscal grounds, but I think they are profoundly wrong," he wrote in a part of a post on X last week. "The current House bill includes $1.6 trillion in savings. These are not gimmicks but real reforms that lower spending and improve the programs."
"So after nothing happening for decades, the House bill provides a historic $1.6 trillion in mandatory savings...with a three-seat majority. $36 trillion in debt is not solved overnight. It is solved by advancing and securing victories at a scale that over time, gives a fighting shot to addressing the problem. The House's One Big Beautiful Bill deserves passage for many reasons ... tax cuts, border security funding, eliminating the Green New Deal, work requirements to end dependency ... but it should not be lost on anyone, the degree to which it ends decades of fiscal futility and gets us winning again. It deserves the vote of every member of Congress," he asserted.
'TOO LATE': TRUMP BACKS CHALLENGER TO FREEDOM CAUCUS CHAIR DESPITE RECEIVING PRIOR ENDORSEMENT
Good, who served in Congress from early 2021 until early 2025, lost a 2024 congressional GOP primary contest to a Trump-backed challenger.
Trump repeatedly attacked Good in the lead up to the 2024 primary contest, asserting on Truth Social that "Bob Good is BAD FOR VIRGINIA, AND BAD FOR THE USA."
Good ultimately lost the primary by less than 1% of the vote.
He had endorsed Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis for president in 2023 before the governor launched his White House bid that year. In 2024, Good endorsed Trump immediately after DeSantis dropped out.
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In his endorsement post, Good called Trump "the greatest President of my lifetime," adding, "we need him to reinstate the policies that were working so well for America."
Good expressed interest in the prospect of potentially running for office again, telling Fox News Digital that he is keeping his "options open" and praying about it, but has not arrived at a decision yet. Print Close
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