Former President Trump set his sights on a debt ceiling deal on Thursday, a day after it passed the House amid Republican criticism.
Trump didn’t directly mention the debt-restriction deal in his speech in Des Moines, Iowa, suggesting that Republicans “should have struggled a little bit” to get the deal done.
“We probably should have gone through a little more pain over the last few days to get the deal done, if you know what I mean. But it’s okay,” he said.
It will be the former president’s second visit to Iowa this election after canceling an outdoor rally in the state earlier this month due to tornado warnings in the area.
President Trump has been silent since President Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-California) announced a deal last week to raise the debt ceiling, but the 2024 GOP nominee’s nominee has been on the receiving end of a deal. Competitors are voicing their opposition to the deal. Earlier this month, before the deal was signed, he said Republicans “shouldn’t agree on a debt ceiling unless they get everything they want.”
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, a Republican who is considered Trump’s front-runner in polls, said Monday that “our country will still be headed for bankruptcy” if the deal goes through. Other presidential candidates, including former Vice President Mike Pence and conservative entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, have also denounced the deal.
Conservative Republican lawmakers pledged to oppose the deal earlier this week, but it eventually passed the House 314-117 with about two-thirds of the Republican convention voting in favor. Some conservative lawmakers are proposing to put a motion on the floor to remove McCarthy from office.
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