Photo credit: Ron Cogswell (CC-By-2.0)

At the time I am writing this, the United States’ national debt is more than $22.5 TRILLION dollars. This equals out to more than $183,000 owed per taxpayer. The debt climbs every second, so these numbers will be even higher by the time you are reading this. 

And, far too many congressional Republicans are planning to partner with President Trump to make the numbers climb to an even higher amount. 

Leadership in Congress reached a two-year deal with the White House to raise the debt ceiling. This means that the borrowing authority of the United States has increased, effectively allowing federal spending to grow unchecked. It is estimated that federal spending will increase by $320 billion more than it would have if spending had been checked. 

This deal will likely come to a vote before the next recess, and, like anything that has yet to be voted on, there is not absolute certainty that it will be passed. However, it is highly likely that the debt ceiling will be raised with the help of Republican votes

Fiscally conservative Twitter is calling President Trump and the GOP out over this deal: 

Additionally, many members of the House Freedom Caucus have voiced their disapproval of the deal that will allow spending to increase, publicly stating that they will be voting against the deal. The caucus itself even tweeted out a statement: 

While it is encouraging to see that there are still some true fiscal conservatives serving in Congress, it is disheartening to see so many congressional Republicans willing to vote this deal through. Maya MacGuineas, president of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget put it best:

There was a time when Republicans insisted on a dollar of spending cuts for every dollar increase in the debt limit…It’s hard to believe they are now considering the opposite — attaching $2tn of spending increases to a similar-sized debt limit hike.

If this deal passes, I have just one thing to say to congressional Republicans: shame on you. If we can’t trust you to oppose unchecked federal spending, what issues can we trust you on? 

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