DeSantis Warns US Is 'Careening Toward Bankruptcy’

EDITOR'S NOTE: Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, a prominent figure in the 2024 presidential race, vehemently criticized the bipartisan debt ceiling deal recently reached in principle, asserting that the United States is still on a perilous path toward bankruptcy. Speaking on "Fox & Friends," DeSantis expressed his concerns about the massive amount of spending involved in the deal, emphasizing that it falls short of addressing the nation's mounting fiscal challenges. As the agreement awaits approval in Congress, tensions rise on both sides of the aisle, with the approaching deadline of June 5th threatening a potential default on the country's financial obligations.

 

DeSantis, who launched his presidential bid last week, underscored the cyclical nature of such deals in Washington, D.C., highlighting their short-term focus on political expediency rather than long-term financial stability. Amid a growing field of high-profile Republicans vying for the party's nomination, DeSantis joins former President Trump in voicing his concerns and positioning himself as a champion of fiscal responsibility. As the 2024 election approaches, the debate over the nation's debt ceiling takes center stage, with DeSantis passionately warning about the dire consequences of the current trajectory.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R), who’s running in the 2024 presidential race, blasted the bipartisan debt ceiling deal struck in principle over the weekend, arguing the U.S. is still “careening toward bankruptcy.” 

“Prior to this deal … our country was careening towards bankruptcy. And after this deal, our country will still be careening towards bankruptcy,” DeSantis said on “Fox & Friends.”

“To say you can do 4 trillion [dollars] of increases in the next year-and-a-half, I mean, that’s a massive amount of spending. I think that we’ve gotten ourselves on a trajectory here — really since March of 2020, with some of the COVID spending, and totally reset the budget, and they’re sticking with that. And I think that that’s just going to be totally inadequate to get us in a better spot,” the governor said. 

After months of tensions and negotiations, President Biden and Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) on Saturday said they’d reached a deal in principle to raise the debt ceiling for two years and add new spending caps in that same period. 

The tentative agreement, which now goes before the House and Senate, has taken heat from both sides of the aisle. The nation is just days away from the June 5 deadline, after which Treasury Department Secretary Janet Yellen has warned the U.S. will run out of money to pay its bills and stave off default.

The Florida governor argued on Monday that “in Washington, D.C., they do these cycles to just get them through the next election. And that’s ultimately one of the reasons why they continue to fail,” DeSantis said.

DeSantis launched a 2024 presidential bid last week, joining former President Trump and a growing field of other high-profile Republicans in the party’s primary race. Biden is running for reelection.

Originally published by: Julia Mueller on The Hill