Former President Donald Trump suggested Thursday that Republicans should have waited longer to get more concessions from Democrats in exchange for raising the debt ceiling.
He made the remarks while delivering a speech at a Des Moines, Iowa, venue. It's the first time he's been in the state this election cycle, canceling a planned rally last month due to a tornado warning.
"We should have gone through a little more pain, perhaps, over the last few days to get maybe a deal done — if you understand what I mean," Trump told the crowd. "But that's OK."
The former president's comments are his only thus far on the debt deal struck between the Biden administration and House Republican leadership, which passed the lower chamber 314-177 on Wednesday.
"We're finally bending the curve on discretionary spending because of this bill, and we're doing it while at the same time raising our national defense and our veterans fully funded, with Social Security and Medicare preserved," House Speaker Kevin McCarthy said on the floor.
"That is a major victory," the California Republican contended.
Republicans in support of the legislation have paraded measures beyond the top line, including changes to the efficiency of government agencies permitting oil and gas leases and how appropriations are decided.
However, others have criticized the bill for only capping non-defense discretionary spending at around $637 billion in 2024, just $1 billion less than the previous fiscal year, while increasing defense spending by 3%.
Some of those naysayers have since floated the idea of ousting McCarthy from the speakership position, including Rep. Ken Buck, R-Colo.
"Stay tuned," Buck informed reporters when asked about the possibility.
Meanwhile, Trump's top 2024 primary competitor, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, argued Monday that the country would "still be careening towards bankruptcy" if the agreement passed.
"To say you can do $4 trillion of increases in the next year-and-a-half, I mean, that's a massive amount of spending," DeSantis said on Fox News' "Fox & Friends."
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