Rand Paul Warns ‘Big, Beautiful Bill’ Will ‘Explode The Debt’

Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) criticized the version of President Donald Trump’s “One Big, Beautiful Bill” passed by the House last week, warning that it would significantly increase the national debt.

In a Sunday interview with anchor Shannon Bream on “Fox News Sunday,” Paul expressed support for the bill’s tax cuts but described its spending cuts as “wimpy and anemic.” Even so, Paul said he could support the bill — if not for concerns about it adding to the nearly $37 trillion national debt.

“The problem is the math doesn’t add up,” Paul said. “They’re going to explode the debt by — the House says $4 trillion, the Senate’s actually been talking about exploding the debt $5 trillion.”

Great joining @ShannonBream on @FoxNewsSunday to talk about why I oppose the Big Beautiful Bill. pic.twitter.com/ylvf4TKXrz

— Senator Rand Paul (@SenRandPaul) May 25, 2025

Proponents tout how the bill aims to make reforms to rein in spending programs, such as kicking illegal immigrants off Medicaid, and foster economic growth. Yet that may not be enough. Like the House, the Senate has a slim GOP majority, and it’s not guaranteed the bill will prevail in its current form.

Paul, who lamented that the U.S. deficit remains about $2.2 trillion, said he would consider backing the legislation if its proposed $4-5 trillion debt ceiling increase is removed.

“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. “The idea that we’re going to explode deficits and the projections are now looking at over $3 trillion in deficits over the next 10 years. I think it’s just … not a serious proposal.”

Confronted with the prospect of a coming U.S. default, Paul said he proposed an amendment that would raise the debt ceiling every three months to leverage spending cuts. However, Republicans are adopting the “same playbook” as the Democrats and keep avoiding the issue, he said.

Paul cautioned that borrowing to fund “free stuff” such as healthcare drives a $3 trillion deficit, triggering inflation that harms beneficiaries, and he bemoaned a failure to advance DOGE-proposed spending cuts or rescission packages.

The national debt, with $7 trillion in spending against $5 trillion in revenue, is the “greatest threat” to U.S. national security, Paul said.

“Conservatives do need to stand up and have their voice heard,” he declared. “This is a problem we’ve been facing for decades now, and if we don’t stand up on it, I really fear the direction the country is going.”