‘A False Dilemma’: GOP Presidential Hopefuls Weigh In On The Debt Ceiling Debate As Default Looms

• As debt limit negotiations ensue between President Joe Biden and congressional leaders ahead of the looming default date, Republican presidential hopefuls offer their conservative priorities and long-term solutions. 
• Several GOP contenders believe budget reform, GDP growth and entitlement reform warrant attention in the long-run to stave off another debt limit crisis, they told the Daily Caller News Foundation.
• “Long term we must amend the constitution to limit spending to a fixed percentage of GDP, with exceptions for war and natural disasters. Otherwise, both parties spend and will continue to do so,” conservative personality Larry Elder told the DCNF.

As the debt limit negotiations between President Joe Biden, GOP House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and other leadership continue ahead of the approaching default date, various conservative priorities come to the minds of Republican presidential contenders.

With the Republican-held House’s passage of McCarthy’s debt limit bill that included numerous spending cuts on April 26, and Democrats pushing for a clean debt ceiling hike without budget cuts, leaders from both chambers must negotiate with Biden as the default date could come as soon as June 1. Several Republican primary hopefuls offer conservative priorities and long-term solutions to the debt ceiling crisis, like budget reform, gross domestic product (GDP) growth and entitlements, they told the Daily Caller News Foundation.

“Vivek [Ramaswamy] thinks the debate between ‘tax increases’ and ‘spending cuts’ is a false dilemma,” the conservative businessman’s spokesperson, Tricia McLaughlin, told the DCNF. “Republicans are playing small-ball: we need to focus more on spawning GDP growth. The best defense is offense. Don’t just be cost accountants. Time to unleash the American economy instead, climateism be damned.” (RELATED: Here’s How Congress Could Actually Balance The Federal Budget) 

Ramaswamy believes the best way to do this is to bolster American energy production and create more jobs, McLaughlin said. The 2024 contender insists that if GDP growth is restored to 3% or 4%, many of these other issues will dissipate, though he would aim for 5% if president.

In the current debt ceiling negotiation, Ramaswamy wouldn’t put entitlements on the table, but acknowledges that cuts might be required in the long-run, said McLaughlin. 

“To the extent entitlement reform is required in the future,” McLaughlin said, “Vivek favors drawing distinctions in certain instances for ‘safety net’ programs between those who have earned $10 million over their lifetime versus those who have not — and to make any changes prospectively in advance so that no Americans who have paid into a system and were promised one thing end up being deprived of what they were promised.”

Conservative talk show personality Larry Elder believes a deal will be made among party leaders and the president, and that the U.S. won’t default on its debt, but mentioned long-term issues that must be dealt with to prevent a similar situation down the line, he told the DCNF.

“Long term we must amend the constitution to limit spending to a fixed percentage of GDP, with exceptions for war and natural disasters. Otherwise, both parties spend and will continue to do so,” said Elder. “The only way to rein in spending and force entitlement reform is to tie the hands of Congress by limiting spending to a set percentage of GDP. This requires a president to use the bully pulpit to push the idea, educate the people to pressure their politicians and make the case that it is in the country’s best interest.”

Elder also doesn’t think entitlements should be on the table during this negotiation, but believes that the expansion of entitlements is “unsustainable” and has to be addressed in the future, he told the DCNF.

Former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson believes Biden must negotiate with the legislature to ensure the U.S. doesn’t default on its debt, and drew on his experience as governor in balancing the budget, he told the DCNF.

“Congress and the President should agree to a framework to reduce the inflation-causing spending coming out of Washington and then the debt extension should be passed,” the former governor said. “I have had to cut spending as governor in order to balance the budget and the American public expects both Congress and the president to work together to resolve this pending crisis.”

Former President Donald Trump has been outspoken on the issue of entitlement reform, asking GOP lawmakers not to touch Social Security and Medicare in debt ceiling negotiations, he said in a January video. Instead, Trump suggested cutting spending to “corrupt foreign countries,” “left-wing gender programs from our military” and climate change “extremism.”

“Under no circumstances should Republicans vote to cut a single penny from Medicare or Social Security to help pay for Joe Biden’s reckless spending spree,” he said. “While we absolutely need to stop Biden’s out of control spending, the pain should be borne by Washington bureaucrats, not by hardworking American families and American seniors.”

Some of the former president’s suggestions appeared to be taken by McCarthy, as his debt ceiling bill — the Limit, Save, Grow Act — would gut Biden’s signature climate law, the Inflation Reduction Act, would block the president’s student loan forgiveness program and would roll back back COVID-19 benefits for fraudsters, while raising the debt ceiling by $1.5 trillion.

South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley slammed the GOP for adding to the national debt, and that it’s not just Biden to blame, she said in New Hampshire in March, per the National Review. Haley supports some degree of entitlement reform, and said Congress must balance the budget.

“I balanced a budget in South Carolina. You balance a budget at home. Our businesses, we balance budgets. Why is Congress the only group that’s exempt from doing that? We have to start balancing a budget.”

Haley called for increasing the retirement age for people currently in their twenties, restrictions for the wealthy to receive benefits, adjusting the cost of living to inflation rates and expanding Medicare Advantage, she said.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who is expected to announce a presidential campaign soon, supported a budget proposal during his time in Congress to increase the retirement age to 70 — which he has caught flack for from Trump. The governor mildly addressed the debt limit debate May 5 where he criticized Congress for not balancing the budget; DeSantis’ comments were forwarded to the DCNF upon request for comment.

“Here in Florida, we have to balance the budget, we run big surpluses, we have to make decisions. What happens in Washington, because they don’t have a balanced budget requirement, they will face less blowback as a politician if they charge it on the credit card, ” said DeSantis. “I think you need to require a balanced budget … and force them to make decisions.”

While some Republicans call for not touching entitlements, others believe that not doing anything is detrimental. The Old-Age and Survivors Insurance Trust Fund can only provide payments until 2034, and could deplete beforehand due to inflation; if Social Security isn’t touched before it runs out, it could produce cuts of more than 20%, according to the Social Security Administration.

Former Vice President Mike Pence, who is considering running for president, expressed support for McCarthy’s debt limit bill, but worries about a hands-off approach for entitlements down the road, he said on CNBC in February.

“We all know where the real issue is in terms of long-term debt for the United States and that is that while I respect the speaker’s commitment to take Social Security and Medicare off the table for the debt ceiling negotiations, we’ve got to put them on the table in the long term. And right now, President Biden’s policy is insolvency,” Pence said.

South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott is the only current Republican weighing a presidential bid who will actually play a roll in this debt ceiling increase. Scott signed on to a Senate GOP letter, led by Utah Sen. Mike Lee, throwing support behind McCarthy’s bill and declaring they wouldn’t budge on the spending cuts proposed in McCarthy’s debt limit bill.

“We will not be voting for cloture on any bill that raises the debt ceiling without substantive spending and budget reforms,” the letter reads.

The senator also addressed the debt limit negotiations on Doug Wagner’s radio show in Iowa on Tuesday, where he called for “work requirements for social programs” as a solution to the national debt crisis; Scott’s comments were forwarded to the DCNF upon request for comment.

“I want to inspire and fight for making sure every single able-bodied American goes to work,” said Scott. “That will reduce our government spending, and restore respect in the mirror: if you can, you should.”

Trump and Pence did not immediately respond to the DCNF’s requests for comment, and Haley declined to comment.

All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. 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.