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President Trump rounded on Sen. Rand Paul over the Republican lawmaker’s opposition to the House-passed One Big Beautiful Bill Act due to its impact on the debt.
“Rand votes NO on everything, but never has any practical or constructive ideas,” Trump groused Tuesday on Truth Social. “His ideas are actually crazy (losers!). The people of Kentucky can’t stand him. This is a BIG GROWTH BILL!”
In an earlier post, Trump, 78, had complained that Paul “has very little understanding of the BBB, especially the tremendous GROWTH that is coming. He loves voting ‘NO’ on everything, he thinks it’s good politics, but it’s not. The BBB is a big WINNER!!!
Paul (R-Ky.), Trump’s former 2016 primary foe and a critic of the president’s tariff policies, was unmoved by the attack.
“I want to see the tax cuts made permanent, but I also want to see the $5 trillion in new debt removed from the bill,” the 62-year-old wrote on X shortly after Trump’s swipe. “At least 4 of us in the Senate feel this way.”
Sens. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) and Rick Scott (R-Fla.) have all publicly raised concerns about the debt ceiling extension as well. The identity of the fourth senator Paul referenced was not immediately clear.
The House-passed version of the bill hikes the nation’s debt limit by $4 trillion, while a blueprint passed by the Senate earlier this year calls for a $5 trillion increase.
“The math doesn’t add up. I’m not supporting a bill that increases the debt by $5T. I refuse to support maintaining Biden spending levels,” Paul added on X.
The federal government is not expected to bump against the debt ceiling — the so-called “X-date” — until August, according to the latest estimates from the Treasury.
Paul has previously indicated he could support the One Big Beautiful Bill Act if the debt limit provision gets cut out, noting that he’s “pretty much open to compromise on everything else in the bill.”
Trump and GOP leadership have been adamant about including a debt limit increase in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act in order to avoid a messy showdown with Democrats. Without an increase, the US will be at risk of defaulting on its $36 trillion national debt.
Separate from the debt ceiling, multiple projections say the One Big Beautiful Bill Act will add somewhere between $3 trillion and $4 trillion to the federal budget deficit over a 10-year period.
The White House and GOP leadership have tried to counter by arguing that the extension of key provisions in the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act — many of which are set to expire by the end of the year — should be thought of as permanent, and therefore, because of the spending cuts tacked on, the megabill is deficit reducing
The legislative bundle includes more than $1.5 trillion of spending cuts over the next decade.
Republicans have a 53-47 majority in the upper chamber, and Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) has teased plans to make additional business tax cuts permanent in the package and find additional savings.
Assuming those modifications are approved, the House will have to vote on the bill again before sending it to the president.
GOP leaders in both chambers have expressed optimism that Trump will be able to sign the bill by the July 4 holiday.
