President-elect Donald Trump sharply criticized former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy for the 2023 debt ceiling suspension, calling it "one of the dumbest political decisions made in years." Trump said McCarthy, despite being a friend, made a major mistake.
“The extension of the Debt Ceiling by a previous Speaker of the House, a good man and a friend of mine, from this past September of the Biden Administration, to June of the Trump Administration, will go down as one of the dumbest political decisions made in years. There was no reason to do it - NOTHING WAS GAINED, and we got nothing for it - A major reason why that Speakership was lost. It was Biden’s problem, not ours. Now it becomes ours,” Trump wrote in a post.
He didn’t hold back, saying he called it “1929” because Democrats didn’t care about the country's potential downfall. "In fact, they would prefer ‘Depression’ as long as it hurt the Republican Party," he said. Trump argued the Democrats should be forced to take action on the debt ceiling now, under Biden's watch, not later. "They should be blamed for this potential disaster, not the Republicans!"
A deal passed by Congress and signed by President Joe Biden last year suspended the debt limit through January 2025. But Trump has been vocal about wanting to increase the ceiling before he takes office.
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen warned that the new debt limit will be established in January 2025. In a letter to congressional leaders, she said the Treasury expected to reach the new limit between January 14 and January 23, and extraordinary measures would be necessary at that time.
Earlier this month, Trump and Vice President-elect JD Vance pushed for the debt ceiling to be raised as part of a stopgap government spending proposal. They criticized Republicans for letting the country hit the debt ceiling. "The most foolish and inept thing ever done by Congressional Republicans was allowing our country to hit the debt ceiling in 2025. It was a mistake and is now something that must be addressed," they said in a statement.
Trump’s team emphasized it would be better to raise the debt ceiling while Biden was in office, fearing that Democrats would be uncooperative when it’s time to raise it during a Republican administration. But despite their efforts, the measure that passed didn’t raise the ceiling.
Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, responded to Trump’s criticism of McCarthy. He pointed out that only 71 Republicans opposed the debt ceiling extension 18 months ago. "Sadly, this bad debt ceiling extension was opposed by only 71 House Republicans 18 months ago (notably opposed by virtually the entire @freedomcaucus)," Roy wrote on X.
He also noted that Democrats voted against the recent debt ceiling increase proposal, highlighting their high demands for more spending and taxes. "Yes, we can & should address the debt ceiling - thru reconciliation in January with mostly GOP votes - but with real, meaningful spending cuts," Roy added.