Republican Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky said Wednesday that doomsday scenarios about the debt ceiling and default were “completely dishonest.”
“They’re completely dishonest and worry the markets, and are bad for the country and bad for all of us by saying ‘oh, we might default.’ There is absolutely no reason for us to default,” Paul told Fox Business host Larry Kudlow, a former Trump administration adviser.
WATCH:
“Our interest payments are about 400 billion,” Paul continued. “We bring in about five trillion, so we have plenty of money to pay our interest payments. We have plenty of money to pay our soldiers, to pay our social security and to pay for Medicare.”
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen informed Congress that the country reached the debt ceiling of $31.4 trillion Thursday as House Republicans have demanded that any increase in the limit be accompanied by spending cuts. The White House is refusing to negotiate, accusing Republicans of taking the economy “hostage.”
“I don’t think you should ever threaten default of the world’s safest security, which is the U.S. dollar, threatening to raise interest rates and undermine the kind of progress we’ve made thus far,” White House economic adviser Jared Bernstein said during a Friday appearance on MSNBC. Democratic Rep. Eric Swalwell of California floated the idea of using a discharge petition to force through legislation to increase the debt limit.
“We’re about a third overdrawn, so there’s an enormous amount of government we’d have to trim,” Paul said. “Now, if you do it over a five-year period, what I proposed recently, you bring the baseline down, you cut $100 billion immediately and then you freeze spending for about four or five years. Guess what? You actually achieve balance through growth, and so it can be done and it can be done with very small amounts.”
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Daily Caller News Foundation.
All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.
DONATE TO BIZPAC REVIEW
Please help us! If you are fed up with letting radical big tech execs, phony fact-checkers, tyrannical liberals and a lying mainstream media have unprecedented power over your news please consider making a donation to BPR to help us fight them. Now is the time. Truth has never been more critical!
- Police chief who groveled after discussing ‘East African crime’ panders to Somalis again - December 17, 2025
- Ilhan Omar whines about ICE operations in Minneapolis - December 17, 2025
- ‘It’s all bullsh*t’: Tim Walz goes on anti-Second Amendment rant - December 17, 2025
Comment
We have no tolerance for comments containing violence, racism, profanity, vulgarity, doxing, or discourteous behavior. Thank you for partnering with us to maintain fruitful conversation.
BPR INSIDER COMMENTS
Scroll down for non-member comments or join our insider conversations by becoming a member. We'd love to have you!
