Speaker Johnson clashes with Rand Paul over ‘wimpy’ spending cuts in Trump’s bill

House Speaker Mike Johnson went to battle with Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., over spending cuts and the national debt in President Donald Trump’s “big, beautiful bill” this weekend. 

Johnson made the comments during an appearance on “Fox News Sunday” with host Shannon Bream, after Paul had called the spending cuts in the current version of the bill “wimpy.”

“It sounds like his biggest objection is the fact that we are extending the debt ceiling. That’s a critically important thing to do. We have to do it. We’re not going to get any Democrats to assist on that,” Johnson said Sunday.

“So to get it through the Senate and make sure we don’t crash the U.S. economy and default on our debts for the first time in history, it has to be part of the reconciliation package. And that’s why President Trump and all the other Republicans in Congress, House and Senate understand the necessity of this,” he added.

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House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., speaks during a news conference at the Capitol, May 6, 2025, in Washington.  (AP Photo/Rod Lamkey, Jr., File)

Paul himself also appeared on “Fox News Sunday” later in the show, and he continued to blast what he said was a lack of real spending cuts.

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“I supported the tax cuts in 2017. I support making them permanent, so I support that part of the bill. I support spending cuts. I think the cuts currently in the bill are wimpy and anemic, but I still would support the bill, even with wimpy and anemia cuts, if they weren’t going to explode the debt. The problem is the math doesn’t add up. They’re going to explode the debt. The House’s is $4 trillion. The Senate’s actually been talking about exploding the debt by $5 trillion,” Paul said.

Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., is standing in the way of passing President Trump’s “big, beautiful bill.” (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

He went on to say that there is no way he can vote for a version of the bill that raises the debt ceiling by $5 trillion.

“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,” he said.

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Paul instead proposed raising the debt ceiling for a period of three months, or $500 billion, on a rolling basis. He argued that voting on the issue every three months would force leadership to take the issue seriously by placing the lack of progress center stage in U.S. politics.

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“The deficit is a threat to our country. I think it’s the greatest threat to national security. And so I think you can’t do this,” Paul said.