While other deficit hawks folded one by one Thursday morning and meekly voted for President Donald Trump’s “big, beautiful bill,” Rep. Thomas Massie stood firm.
The Kentucky Republican, one of only two to vote against Trump’s 1,000-page bill, took the floor to offer his GOP colleagues a “dose of reality” about how the bill will saddle the U.S. with trillions in debt for decades to come.
“I would love to stand here and tell the American people ‘we can cut your taxes, and we can increase spending, and everything is going to be just fine.’ But I can’t do that because I’m here to deliver a dose of reality,” Massie said.
“This bill dramatically increases deficits in the near-term, but promises our government will be fiscally responsible five years from now. Where have we heard that before? How do you bind a future Congress to these promises?”
The senior Kentucky legislator then pointed to Moody’s Ratings’ decision to downgrade its U.S. credit rating earlier this week amid concerns about an unsustainable debt load.
“This bill is a debt bomb, ticking,” Massie warned. “Congress can do funny math, fantasy math if it wants. But bond investors don’t.”
Thirty-year U.S. Treasury bond yields briefly hit 5.15% Thursday, the highest since 2007. The Treasury saw a surprisingly soft market Wednesday when it auctioned off $16 billion in 20-year bonds, with investors showing worry about the ballooning federal debt.
“Under the taxing and spending levels in this bill, we’re going to rack up ― the authors say ― $20 trillion of new debt over the next 10 years. I’m telling you it’s closer to $30 trillion of new debt in the next 10 years,” Massie warned.
“Mr. Speaker, we’re not rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic tonight. We’re putting coal in the boiler and setting a course for the iceberg,” he concluded, looking up in sharp surprise as Democrats began to cheer him on.
“If something is beautiful, you don’t do it after midnight. I oppose this bill.”