House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) defended the House-passed spending package in an interview that aired Sunday while lauding the bill’s unprecedented cuts.
President Trump has endorsed the legislation, which would add $4 trillion to the national debt.
“We have $36 trillion in federal debt. But it’s important to remember that we did not get into that financial situation overnight. It took many decades … It’s going to take more than a flip of a switch to turn it around,” Johnson said during an appearance on John Catsimatidis’s radio show, “Cats Roundtable” on WABC 770 AM.
Critics, including Elon Musk, have slammed the bill for the debt ceiling increase, alleging it “undermines” federal spending reductions made by the Department of Government Efficiency.
However, Johnson remains confident that the legislation will help the country shift away from past transgressions.
“This is a dramatic shift in the right direction. And it’s just the beginning,” Johnson said.
“We’re going to have more of this in the Republican Congress under President Trump’s leadership to get us out of the debt mess that we’re in.”
Republicans are pushing to have the text approved in the Senate prior to the Fourth of July, although they have received pushback from Democrats over Medicaid reforms set to leave millions without access to healthcare.
“Everybody, take a deep breath. Look at the legislation. You’re going to find that you’re very much in favor of what we’re doing here,” Johnson told Catsimatidis.
“If we do not clean the system up, if we do not eliminate fraud, waste, and abuse, these programs will become insolvent, and they will not be there for the people who desperately need and deserve it. We’re doing the right thing here,” he added.
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