As hardline Republicans expressed opposition to the debt ceiling deal reached between U.S. President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, Florida Governor and Republican presidential candidate Ron DeSantis also joined the criticism.
On the 29th (local time), Governor DeSantis appeared on Fox News and said, "Before the negotiation, the U.S. was heading toward bankruptcy, and even after this agreement, it is still heading toward bankruptcy," adding, "In my opinion, it is completely inadequate to put us in a better position."
He then mentioned the scale of the debt ceiling increase, saying, "Increasing it by $4 trillion over the next year and a half is an enormous expenditure," and criticized, "We reached this point due to COVID-19 related spending and budget resets in March 2020, and they are still sticking to that."
Governor DeSantis, a member of the Freedom Caucus, a group of hardline Republicans, is interpreted to have made this criticism because he believes that fiscal spending cuts have not been sufficiently implemented.
Meanwhile, former President Donald Trump, a leading Republican presidential candidate, has yet to express his position on the debt ceiling deal.
Earlier, he pointed out that a default must be tolerated to enforce large-scale government spending cuts. Former President Trump said, "The Republicans should not finalize the debt ceiling deal until they get everything they want," and urged, "Do not back down."
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