Rep. Dan Newhouse bucks Donald Trump on eliminating debt ceiling
Jun 4, 2025, 3:01 PM
The House Appropriations Committee's Homeland Security Subcommittee member Rep. Dan Newhouse (R-WA) questions Immigration and Customs Enforcement Acting Director Matt Albence during a hearing in the Rayburn House Office Building on Capitol Hill July 25, 2019 in Washington, DC. (Photo: Chip Somodevilla, Getty Images)
(Photo: Chip Somodevilla, Getty Images)
Rep. Dan Newhouse (R-Wash.) doesn’t think scrapping the debt limit, as President Donald Trump suggested, is the wisest decision. He does, however, sympathize with the reason Trump and some others are suggesting the idea.
“As painful as it is to have to vote to increase the debt ceiling, I think it serves as a reminder, periodic reminder to the Congress that, hey, we have to do this. We have to cover checks that we’ve written. It should be a stark reminder that we have to be more fiscally responsible,” Newhouse explained on “The Jason Rantz Show” on KTTH.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump explained he would like to get rid of the process because it gives too many people power to create an “economic catastrophe.”
Why not scrap the debt ceiling?
The concern is that in a deeply divided Congress, a handful of members should hold a vote on the debt ceiling limit hostage, harming the economic security of the United States.
“I am very pleased to announce that, after all of these years, I agree with Senator Elizabeth Warren on SOMETHING. The Debt Limit should be entirely scrapped to prevent an Economic catastrophe. It is too devastating to be put in the hands of political people that may want to use it despite the horrendous effect it could have on our Country and, indirectly, even the World. As to Senator Warren’s second statement on the $4 trillion, I like that also, but it would have to be done over a period of time, as short as possible. Let’s get together, Republican and Democrat, and DO THIS!” Trump explained on Truth Social.
While he understands the concern, Newhouse believes a debt ceiling forces a more public conversation about unsustainable federal spending.
“I think removing that responsibility could have a negative impact on members of Congress. They’re at least realizing that they have some obligation to the taxpayer to be fiscally responsible [with the debt ceiling vote]. So I’m not convinced that it’s the right move to make,” Newhouse explained.
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