Topline
Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C) said he would vote against the debt ceiling bill President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) unveiled earlier this week—making him the latest GOP presidential contender to oppose the deal, while frontrunner and former President Donald Trump has remained larged silent even as his chief rival, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, has urged him to speak out.
U.S. Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., speaks during a town hall for his presidential campaign, Sunday, May … [+]
Key Facts
Scott doesn’t support the legislation—which would suspend the debt ceiling until January 2025—because it would allow “Biden, someone who we cannot trust on spending, to have an open checkbook,” he said during an Axios event Wednesday, adding McCarthy “did a good job” negotiating the deal.
Scott joins at least four other 2024 GOP hopefuls—biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, former Vice President Mike Pence and DeSantis—in opposing the debt limit legislation, while Trump has yet to publicly comment since the deal was unveiled Sunday.
Prior to the legislation’s release, Trump suggested Republicans should force a default if they couldn’t get Biden to agree to spending cuts, while playing down the economic consequences despite experts warning of a likely economic disaster, predicting that reaching the debt ceiling would only amount to “a bad week or a bad day,” he said during a CNN town hall.
DeSantis, in separate appearances Monday and Tuesday, said the U.S. would continue “careening toward bankruptcy” under the debt limit legislation.
DeSantis also told reporters from Iowa on Tuesday Trump “should come out” with a firm stance on the debt ceiling legislation, suggesting his former ally is “waiting for polls to tell [him] what position to take.”
Haley, meanwhile, criticized both Trump and DeSantis for approving a debt ceiling increase in 2018, when Trump was president and DeSantis served in Congress, telling reporters in an email from her campaign “the best way to fix Washington’s spending addiction is to elect people who have not been part of the problem.”
Key Background
The House was on track to pass legislation to avert a federal default Wednesday after a weeks-long, last-minute negotiating session between McCarthy and Biden. Rather than putting a cap on the federal deficit limit, the legislation would suspend the issue for two years, allowing the Treasury to keep adding to the $31.4 trillion national debt without seeking approval from Congress, which is required to sign off on the figure. Congress took up the legislation ahead of a June 5 deadline for when Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said the U.S. could default on its financial obligations if the debt ceiling was not raised.
Tangent
As the House voted on the consequential legislation, DeSantis kicked off his first full day of campaigning in the early presidential nominating state of Iowa, and Trump was set to head there later in the evening, starting with an appearance on a local TV news station followed by several speaking events Thursday.
What To Watch For
Pence, who has indicated for months he is considering a run for the White House, will reportedly announce his campaign on June 7 from Iowa.
Further Reading
DeSantis Slams Debt Ceiling Deal As Trump Remains Largely Silent (Forbes)
Trump: GOP Should Let U.S. Default On Debt If Democrats Don’t Agree To Spending Cuts (Forbes)
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/saradorn/2023/05/31/tim-scott-becomes-latest-gop-presidential-contender-opposing-debt-ceiling-bill-as-trump-stays-mum/