In the early hours of the morning, Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Kentucky) delivered a harsh warning that President Donald Trump’s “Big, Beautiful Bill” is a “debt bomb ticking.” He did so with a Titanic-inspired analogy, arguing the bill will send the U.S. straight into a fiscal “iceberg.”

During a contentious portion of the debate in the overnight session that the House of Representatives convened to rush this bill through, Democrats criticized the legislation as benefiting those with the most and harming those with the least. Massie crossed the aisle and participated in this protest, offering a “dose of reality.”

“I’d love to stand here and tell the American people, we can cut your taxes and we can increase spending and everything’s going to be just fine. But I can’t do that,” he said. “This bill dramatically increases deficits in the near term, but promises our government will be fiscally responsible five years from now… This bill is a debt bomb ticking.”

Massie sided with all the Democrats to warn about the long-term effects that this bill will cause. While it promises tax relief in the short term, it sets the country up for extreme debt and long-term economic instability.

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He also mentioned that Moody’s downgraded the U.S. credit outlook, causing higher interest rates for long-term government bonds.

“Congress can do funny math, fantasy math, if it wants,” Massie added. “But bond investors don’t.”

Although the authors of this bill claim it will increase the debt by $20 trillion over the next decade, due to the bill’s taxing and spending levels, Massie predicts that it will actually explode by as much as $30 trillion.

“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 warned.

Massie closed his speech by taking a jab at fellow House Republicans who chose to open this session while the rest of the country was asleep.

“If something is beautiful, you don’t do it after midnight.”

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Article by Riley Goldman

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