DeSantis criticizes bipartisan ‘spending binge’
Gov. Ron DeSantis: Both Parties Responsible for Excessive Government Spending
During a recent interview on CNBC’s Last Call, Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) boldly stated that both political parties are to blame for the alarming increase in the national debt. He called out the hypocrisy of the GOP when it comes to spending, highlighting how they tighten their belts when out of power but go on a spending spree once in control.
“This idea that it’s all the Democrats, I tell Republican audiences, both parties have done it, both parties have been involved. And actually Republicans are very tough when they’re out of power, but when they get in power, they basically go on a spending binge too. And I think you’ve seen it over the last five or six years, 100% it’s a bipartisan thing,” DeSantis said.
DeSantis pointed to the excessive spending on the COVID-19 response by Congress during both the Trump and Biden administrations. Despite the significant financial expenditure, he criticized the federal government’s poor handling of the pandemic. The Florida governor, who is also a Republican presidential candidate, emphasized how spending for federal agencies always seems to increase once a new baseline is set, contributing to the national debt.
“But what Congress has done, they’ve basically locked in that level of spending. Once government increases spending, that kind of becomes the new baseline. You can’t govern like that. In Florida, we basically do zero-based budgeting. You can head an agency in Florida, maybe you got a billion dollars last year, you’re not entitled to get more than a billion next year. You have to justify what you’re going to do. We don’t do that in Washington so debt does matter,” DeSantis explained.
The national debt has skyrocketed from $19.5 trillion in 2016 to over $32 trillion in 2023. While the COVID-19 pandemic played a significant role in this increase, the debt was already growing prior to and continues to grow after the pandemic.
During the interview, DeSantis also outlined his plan to reduce regulation and bureaucracy by cutting the footprint of federal agencies in Washington, D.C., by 50%.
Currently, Gov. Ron DeSantis is in second place in the Republican primary, trailing only former President Donald Trump. He will be participating in the first GOP presidential debate next week in Milwaukee, although it remains uncertain if Trump will attend.
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