Two Republican senators voiced concerns Sunday over President Trump’s so-called “big, beautiful bill,” saying it lacks meaningful spending cuts and could significantly increase the national debt. Despite being longtime allies of the president, Sens. Rand Paul of Kentucky and Ron Johnson of Wisconsin made it clear they believe the House-passed legislation needs serious revisions before it has any hope of clearing the Senate.
Paul, speaking on “Fox News Sunday,” criticized the bill for what he described as weak and ineffective cuts. While he said he might be able to support the measure in theory, he warned that the current version would explode the national debt. He previously declared himself a hard “no” on the bill after it passed the House on Thursday.
He reiterated his opposition, saying that the financial framework of the legislation simply doesn’t make sense. Paul took particular issue with a provision allowing the federal government to raise the debt ceiling by $4 trillion, calling that move anything but conservative. He stressed that the bill runs counter to the principles of fiscal responsibility that Republicans once stood for.
“There’s got to be someone left in Washington who thinks debt is wrong and deficits are wrong and wants to go in the other direction,” Paul said. He argued that lawmakers are blindly following party leadership without challenging the core issues at stake. “Somebody has to stand up and yell, ‘The emperor has no clothes,’” he added, calling out the chorus of support the bill has received in some Republican circles.
The criticism from Paul and Johnson signals potential roadblocks for Trump’s legislative priorities in the Senate, where even members of his own party are warning that unchecked spending could derail what the House narrowly managed to pass. While the bill represents a major political victory for Speaker Mike Johnson and House Republicans, its path forward is anything but guaranteed.