Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-C., vowed Monday to do everything in his power to “undo” the bipartisan debt ceiling bill and the “disaster” he said would be for U.S. defense united
“I will use every power available in the Senate to have amendment votes to undo this defense catastrophe,” Graham wrote on Twitter. “I support raising the debt limit for 90 days to give us a chance to fix this defense disaster.”
“I am utterly disgusted by the decision of political leaders to make it remotely possible to dismantle our national security apparatus at a time of great peril. Take this absurd idea off the table,” he added.
REPUBLICAN WIN ON DEBT CEIL: HERE’S WHY HOUSE GOP SHOULD SUPPORT DEAL
Earlier in the afternoon, he repeated criticism he made on Sunday of the defense spending aspects of the deal, calling it “welcome news to China” and suggesting he was going against the “crying of Democrats and Republicans on the rise and growing threat of China.”
“How far Ronald Reagan’s party has fallen. Biden’s defense budget has been ridiculed by Republicans for over a year,” he said. he wrote on Twitter. “In terms of the share of GDP spent on defense, Biden’s budget matches and ultimately falls below the lowest level in modern history. Nothing in this bill provides weapons or technology to help Ukraine defeat Putin and make the world more stable.”
“For Biden, McConnell and McCarthy, what are we going to do with our own national defense as well as our support for Ukraine? We need to know,” he added.
LAWMAKERS REACT TO DEBT CEIL DEAL ACHIEVED BETWEEN HOUSE GOP AND BIDEN
Sen. Lindsey Graham, RS.C., during a hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, March 23, 2022. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
During an appearance on “Fox News Sunday,” Graham warned House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., against cutting the defense budget to reach a deal on the debt ceiling. His comments came before full details of the deal were released.
“Number one, I respect Kevin McCarthy. I want to raise the debt ceiling. It would be irresponsible not to. I want to control spending. I’d like to have a smaller IRS. I’d like to get the unused COVID money back. I know you can’t get the perfect one, but what I’m not going to do is adopt Biden’s defense budget and call it a success,” Graham said.
“Kevin said defense is fully funded. If we adopt Biden’s defense budget, it will increase defense spending below inflation — a 3.2% increase in defense is below inflation,” he added .
REPUBLICANS GET MASSIVE GAUDIT APPROVAL IN DEBT CEILING DEAL
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., speaks to reporters just after the House Republican majority narrowly approved a sweeping debt ceiling package as they try to push President Joe Biden to negotiate federal spending, at the Capitol in Washington. Wednesday, April 26, 2023. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
Biden and McCarthy reached a deal on the debt ceiling late Sunday, averting a potentially catastrophic US default just days before a June 5 deadline. They released the House version of the bill later in the evening.
The deal includes a 3 percent increase in defense spending next year, lower than the current annual inflation rate of more than 4 percent. It would also keep non-defense spending roughly flat in fiscal 2024 and increase it by 1% the following year, as well as provide for a 2-year debt limit increase.
The House Rules Committee will meet at 3 p.m. Tuesday to prepare the debt ceiling bill for floor debate on Wednesday.
Fox News’ Danielle Wallace, Bradford Betz and Chad Pergram contributed to this report.
Brandon Gillespie is an associate editor at Fox News. Follow him on Twitter at @brandon_cg.
