Rand Paul, Johnson clash over $5T debt ceiling hike.
A major Republican clash is unfolding over Trump's "big, beautiful bill." House Speaker Mike Johnson and Senator Rand Paul are at odds over the national debt. Paul called the spending cuts in Trump's bill "wimpy and anemic," arguing that raising the debt ceiling by $5 trillion would "explode the debt." Johnson fired back on Fox News Sunday, saying extending the debt ceiling is "critically important" to prevent crashing the U.S. economy.
While Paul supports making Trump's 2017 tax cuts permanent, he proposes a different approach - raising the debt ceiling for just three months at a time. His argument? This would force leadership to address the deficit, which he calls "the greatest threat to national security." Despite the internal conflict, Johnson claims most Republicans understand the necessity of the bill, which has already passed the House.