At least four Senate Republicans are saying they support many of the components of President Donald Trump's "big beautiful bill," but they fear the House-passed legislation falls short of reducing annual federal deficits that are projected to keep growing and say it is already creating issues in the bond market.
"I want to get a deal done; I support the president's agenda," Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., commented about the bill, reports The Hill on Tuesday. "I support the border; I support the military; I support extending the Trump tax cuts, but we have to live in reality… we have got a fiscal crisis."
He added that "we're having trouble selling our long bonds already."
"You saw the Japanese bond market is in trouble; you saw the American bond market is in trouble," said Scott. "Inflation is not coming down; interest is not coming down. That means we've got to balance the budget."
Annual federal deficits are projected to grow to more than $2.5 trillion in 2035, up from $2.2 trillion this year, and some Republicans said they are concerned that if the bill passes on party-line votes in both chambers of Congress, they'll be blamed for adding trillions of dollars in debt and for the economy in the future.
Last Thursday, after the House passed the bill, the 30-year U.S. Treasury yield rose to 5.15%, its highest level since 2023.
Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., one of the two Republicans to vote against the legislation, called the bill a "debt bomb ticking" that will "dramatically" increase deficits now while promising reforms that remain five years away.
Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., who on Sunday called the bill's spending cuts "wimpy" and indicated he will not vote for a bill he said will raise the nation's debt, is telling his colleagues that if the Senate passes the House legislation without making major changes, the GOP will "wholly own" future deficits.
"The anticipated deficits per year now will be $2 trillion a year for the next two years," he said. "I think the problem for conservatives is they lose their high moral ground. These will be their deficits. These will be GOP spending bills, GOP deficits, and there is no change in the direction of the country."
He added that there is "nothing conservative" in the bill about some of the spending increases, including $300 billion for the military and border.
"We don't need another $46 billion for a [border] wall," Paul said.
Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., also called for more deficit reduction in the bill, telling reporters after the House bill passed that the Senate will "need to do a little more work on finding savings to get close to deficit neutral."
Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., who has also spoken out about the bill, is calling for his fellow Republicans to start over on a bill returning to the country to prepandemic spending levels that would be adjusted for population growth and inflation, and called the House bill's spending reduction measures a "joke."
He also said that while proposed reforms to Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program would reduce spending by $880 billion, that move would only result in real savings of under 1.3%.
Meanwhile, other GOP senators are arguing against spending cuts in the bill.
GOP Sens. Susan Collins of Maine; Lisa Murkowski, Alaska; Josh Hawley, Missouri; and Jerry Moran, Kansas say Medicaid reforms would threaten rural hospitals' finances.
Murkowski, Moran, Tillis, and Sen. John Curtis, R-Utah, also said repealing renewable energy tax breaks will destabilize the clean energy industry, which could lead to job losses.
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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