Kentucky Republican Senator Rand Paul said that he hopes President Trump vetoes Congress’s latest economic stimulus package Wednesday in Fox News’ morning show, Fox and Friends.
“I hope he vetoes it,” Paul told Fox News on Wednesday morning in reference to the stimulus bill Trump has announced he intends to shoot down. However, while Trump’s point of contention is that the stimulus does not go far enough, Paul does not endorse direct payments to most Americans at all. (RELATED: Rand Paul Lashes Out At ‘Petty Tyrants’ And Wasteful Spending In Annual Festivus’ Airing Of Grievances’)
“I think giving money to people, though, who are already working—look, my kids are working and don’t need a check. They’re not rich, but they don’t need a check. And most working Americans don’t need a check right now,” Paul added. “It’s a really foolish, eggheaded, left-wing, socialist idea to pass out free money to people. So I part ways with the president on giving people free money.”
Trump also opposed the bill in its current form, asking Congress to amend it so that the amount of money sent out to Americans increases from $600 to $2000 while unnecessary items get cut.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 23, 2020
Paul’s interview with Fox News came two days after he made a viral speech reprimanding Republican colleagues who support the stimulus bill of being no better than the Democrats they criticize for aligning with socialism.
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“We can’t keep pretending that more debt is a sustainable policy course,” said the senator, who called on colleagues to open the economy and halt the national debt’s growth instead.
The Congressional Budget Office in September projected US debt to exceed GDP due to the growing budget deficit.
Paul has said that he believes some of the bill’s contents, including money sent to combat truancy in the Philippines and research grants for a program involving treadmill-walking lizards, were the most ‘egregious’ waste of taxpayer money.
The economic relief package was passed 91-6 by the Senate, with the 6 Senators voting against being Senators Rand Paul, Ted Cruz, Rick Scott, Marsha Blackburn, and Ron Johnson.