Biden says he won't negotiate over raising the debt ceiling. I have news for him: He will

Republican Sens. Rand Paul, Mike Lee, Mike Braun, Rick Scott, Ted Cruz and Ron Johnson held a news conference Wednesday on the debt ceiling. The following are Sen. Paul's remarks.

President Biden says he won’t negotiate over raising the debt ceiling. I have news for him: He absolutely will negotiate. Conservatives will not vote to raise the debt ceiling. The Republican majority in the House will not vote to raise he debt ceiling without significant budget reform.

The greatest threat to our country and the greatest threat to our national security is the debt.

.@POTUS says he will not negotiate on raising the debt ceiling. I have news for him, he will negotiate because conservatives will NOT vote to raise the debt ceiling without significant reforms. pic.twitter.com/1cwJTgYOH2

— Senator Rand Paul (@SenRandPaul) January 25, 2023

One of the great things about where we are now, though, is it really doesn’t take as much as you would think to actually balance the budget. In Europe over half of the countries balance their annual budget. Think of Europe, of Germany and Sweden, having these large governments, and they do, but they’re actually fiscally responsible in the sense that they spend what comes in.

We could do it in our country. If we were to have a $100 billion cut, which would still have us spending way more than we spent before Covid, a $100 billion cut and freeze spending, we would balance our budget in just four years.

Thank you to @SenatorBraun, @SenTedCruz, @SenRonJohnson, @SenMikeLee, and @SenRickScott for joining me today to stand up against raising the debt ceiling without SERIOUS reforms. ⬇️ Watch the entire press conference ⬇️ https://t.co/Y9cWPO4YsU

— Senator Rand Paul (@SenRandPaul) January 25, 2023

This is amazing. We have an opportunity here. It could be done. But it would take compromise between both parties. Republicans would have to give up the sacred cow that says we will never touch a dollar in military, and the Democrats would have to give up the sacred cow that they will never touch a dollar in welfare. Everything would have to be looked at across the board. No one has a sacred cow that would be immune. And when you make the cuts across the board they aren’t as big as you actually think they would be.

It’s the responsible thing to do.

But President Biden needs to know, absolutely he will negotiate and it’s better to start now.