‘I’m Not an Absolute No’ [WATCH]

Senator Rand Paul, R-Ky., indicated Sunday that he may support President Donald Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” budget proposal—provided that its current provision to raise the federal debt ceiling by $5 trillion is negotiated separately, as reported by Newsmax.

The senator made the comments during an appearance on NBC’s Meet the Press, clarifying that he is “not an absolute no” on the bill overall.

“I talked to the president last evening after the parade, and we’re trying to get to a better place in our conversations,” Paul said.

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“And I’ve let him know that I’m not an absolute no. I can be a yes.”

Paul praised certain components of the budget legislation, including proposed tax cuts.

“I like the tax cuts. I actually agree with Art Laffer and supply-siders that a lot of times when we cut rates, we actually get more revenue,” Paul explained. “So I don’t have as much trouble with the tax cuts. I think there should be more spending cuts.”

Despite signaling support for parts of the bill, Paul said the inclusion of a $5 trillion debt ceiling hike remains a critical sticking point. “But if they want my vote, they’ll have to negotiate, because I don’t want to vote to raise the debt ceiling $5 trillion,” Paul stated.

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President Trump has previously referred to Paul as “the toughest vote in the history of the U.S. Senate.” Paul responded to the remark, saying, “I take that as a compliment.”

Paul emphasized that his primary concern is ensuring that the federal government reins in post-pandemic spending levels set under former President Joe Biden.

“You know, Congress is awful with money, and so you should give them a more restricted credit line, not an expansive one,” Paul said.

“Yes, the debt ceiling has to go up, but what I’ve said is it ought to go up three months at a time, and then we should have a renewed debate about the debt.”

He added, “We shouldn’t put it up $5 trillion and wait two years, go through another election cycle, and be almost toward the end of the Trump administration and say, ‘Oh, whoops, we’ve added a bunch of debt.’ We should have done better.”

Paul proposed a straightforward solution: removing the debt ceiling provision from the bill and voting on it separately. “Separate out the debt ceiling and have a separate vote on it, and I won’t be the deciding vote on this,” he said.

The Kentucky senator also addressed political pressure from within the party. “So far they’ve been sending their attack dogs after me, and that’s not a great persuasion technique,” Paul said.

“But I will negotiate if they come to me, but they have to be willing to negotiate on the debt ceiling, because I’m conservative and I’m not going to, you know, no longer be conservative just because the president wants me to vote for something.”

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