Haley Campaign Press Release - FACT CHECK: Nikki Haley vs. DC Insiders on Spending and Debt

Many candidates talk a tough game on spending and debt, but those candidates supported bloated spending that led to Washington's debt and inflation crisis. Nikki Haley proved tonight she is an outsider with a track record of standing up to both Democrats and Republicans on spending issues. She was the first candidate to criticize Donald Trump for contributing to Washington spending and inflation crisis. You can't fix Washington's spending crisis with the same DC insiders who created the crisis to begin with.

DONALD TRUMP

Despite claiming he would pay down the national debt as president, the debt increased by almost $7.8 trillion during the Trump administration.

• The nation's total public debt was just under $20 trillion when Trump took office in 2017. Four years later, the figure was about $27.8 trillion, a 39% increase.
• Trump signed an increase in the debt ceiling. He signed the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 that raised Budget Control Act caps by $296 billion and suspended the debt ceiling. In Congress, DeSantis and Scott both voted for this debt ceiling increase.

TIM SCOTT

• Since Scott went to Congress, federal debt has grown nearly $30 trillion, from $1.4 trillion in 2009 to $31 trillion in 2023.
• Scott voted for the $1.4 trillion omnibus and $900 billion COVID "relief" package in 2020.
• Scott voted for the $317 billion highway and transit bailout in 2016.
• Scott voted to increase the debt ceiling. He voted for the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 that raised Budget Control Act caps by $296 billion and suspended the debt ceiling. Trump signed it into law.

RON DeSANTIS

• DeSantis voted for a reckless spending package that raised the debt ceiling in 2018.

NIKKI HALEY

Haley blames both Republicans and Democrats for Washington's spending addiction.

• Haley is outspoken about Washington's spending addiction. She said: "Here's the truth. Lots of Republican politicians love spending and wasting taxpayer money almost as much as Democrats. The last two Republican presidents added more than $10 trillion to the national debt. Think about that. A third of our debt happened under just two Republicans."
• Haley blames both Republicans and Democrats for supporting multi-trillion dollars spending bills that have increased the national debt.
• Haley criticizes Republicans and Democrats for bringing back wasteful earmark spending: "And did Republicans try to make that right once they made that mistake? No, they doubled down on it and opened up earmarks for the first time in 10 years."

Haley fought the big spenders as governor and UN ambassador.

• During Haley's tenure, debt declined and reserves grew in South Carolina.
• Haley vetoed $459 million in spending from the state budget.
• 35,000 people moved from welfare to work under Haley's tenure.
• Haley has consistently opposed bailouts—from TARP and the bank bailout to Biden's COVID bailouts.
• Haley introduced report cards for the South Carolina legislature and used her personal website and Facebook page to call out Republicans who voted for big spending, like a legislative pay raise, more debt, and tax increases.
• At the UN, Haley negotiated $285 million in cuts from the UN budget and reached agreements to restructure the UN, including rightsizing UN peacekeeping missions to make them more effective and accountable.