President-elect Donald Trump has made either significantly raising the debt ceiling or eliminating it all together his top demand in the current standoff over government funding. Indeed, the MAGA leader touted Thursday that he struck a new deal with House Republicans on a spending bill that would punt the debt ceiling for two years.
However, CNN's Manu Raju reported that at least one key Republican senator gave Trump's demand the cold shoulder.
As Raju wrote on X, Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) on Thursday said that there was no way he would vote to eliminate the debt ceiling no matter how important it would be to Trump.
“They’re trying but I don’t think they’ll get there," said Paul of Trump's efforts to eliminate the debt ceiling. His quote came before Trump's proclamation of success in including the demand in the revised spending bill. "Getting rid of the debt ceiling seems to be fiscally irresponsible.”
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As if that weren't enough, Paul predicted that there would be as many as 30 Republicans in the Senate who would not vote to eliminate the debt ceiling.
Capitol Hill has been in chaos ever since Trump and X owner Elon Musk torpedoed a bipartisan bill to keep the government open Wednesday.
With less than two days to go until the federal government runs out of money, Republicans have scrambled to put together a plan that can pass the House.
