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Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., revealed what it would take for him to vote for President Donald Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill” on Sunday, telling NBC “Meet The Press” host Kristen Welker that he’s not “an absolute no.”
Paul had long been an opponent of the bill, claiming it contained insufficient spending cuts and objecting to the provision that raised the debt ceiling by $5 trillion. The Kentucky senator told Welker that he liked the tax cuts contained in the bill — claiming that they could in fact raise revenue and thus help the deficit — and said he had spoken to President Trump the previous evening after the military parade.
“I’ve let [Trump] know that I’m not an absolute ‘no,’ I can be a ‘yes.’ I like the tax cuts… I think there should be more spending cuts, but if they want my vote they’ll have to negotiate, because I don’t want a vote to raise the debt ceiling $5 trillion,” Paul said.
The “One Big Beautiful Bill” would make the 2017 Trump tax cuts permanent, and includes the president’s signature campaign item “no tax on tips,” coupled with spending cuts and a large debt ceiling hike. The House version of the bill raises the debt ceiling $4 trillion while the Senate blueprint has a $5 trillion raise. Paul, a libertarian, has long opposed federal spending and raised the alarm about the United States’ increasing levels of debt.
“Congress is awful with money, so you should give them a more restrictive credit line, not a more expansive one,” Paul said.
Paul acknowledged the debt ceiling needed to be raised, but said he felt it should be raised in three-month increments, so Congress could continue talking about the debt. He said that in order for him to vote for the “One Big Beautiful Bill,” the debt ceiling provisions would have to be voted on separately.
Trump has criticized Paul’s opposition in voting for the bill, claiming he was “playing into the hands of Democrats.”
“If Senator Rand Paul votes against our Great, Big, Beautiful Bill, he is voting for, along with the Radical Left Democrats, a 68% Tax Increase and, perhaps even more importantly, a first time ever default on U.S. Debt. “Rand will be playing right into the hands of the Democrats, and the GREAT people of Kentucky will never forgive him! The GROWTH we are experiencing, plus some cost cutting later on, will solve ALL problems. America will be greater than ever before!” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
Paul said he and the president are trying to get their conversations to a “better place” after a recent blowup regarding a White House picnic. The senator claimed that he was uninvited to the picnic, which all Democratic and Republican lawmakers were invited to, in retaliation for his opposition to the “One Big Beautiful Bill.” Paul slammed the move as “incredibly petty.”
“The level of immaturity is beyond words,” Paul told reporters Friday.
Shortly after, Trump took to his social media website Truth Social to say that Paul was “of course” invited to the picnic, and proclaimed him the “toughest vote in the history of the senate.”
“Of course Senator Rand Paul and his beautiful wife and family are invited to the BIG White House Party tonight. He’s the toughest vote in the history of the U.S. Senate, but why wouldn’t he be? Besides, it gives me more time to get his Vote on the Great, Big, Beautiful Bill, one of the greatest and most important pieces of legislation ever put before our Senators & Congressmen/women. It will help to, MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN! I look forward to seeing Rand. The Party will be Great!” Trump posted.
Paul also came out against censuring Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Ca., after he was handcuffed and forcibly removed from DHS Secretary Kristi Noem’s press conference Thursday. Padilla interrupted Noem’s press conference, rushed the stage and attempted to ask her a question as federal agents attempted to push him out of the room. The senator was subsequently removed from the room and handcuffed.
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