As debate heats up in Washington over the “Big Beautiful Bill,” Arizona Congressman Eli Crane is sounding the alarm—not just about what’s in the bill but also about what it reveals about the state of the nation’s leadership and its rapidly deteriorating fiscal health.
In a recent interview, Crane, a former Navy SEAL and staunch fiscal conservative, painted a grim picture of ballooning deficits, political cowardice, and a Congress more interested in self-preservation than the nation’s financial survival.
“You still have a lot of members of Congress and the Senate whose priorities aren’t to save the country or to get us on a fiscally responsible track,” Crane said. “Their priorities are to elevate themselves in the political arena, make sure their donors get taken care of, and make sure they don’t make any moves that put them in political hot water.”
The Big Beautiful Bill, promoted by President Trump as a sweeping package covering everything from border security to tax policy and defense funding, is weighted down by internal conflict. Factions within the GOP are fighting over preserving green energy subsidies from the Inflation Reduction Act, expanding SALT tax deductions, and resisting entitlement reforms, especially to Medicaid, which Crane noted has grown by 50% in just five years. “Unfortunately,” Crane warned, “any one of these factions could kill this bill.”
Trump wants the legislation to eliminate taxes on tips, overtime, and Social Security, promises he made during his historic campaign to take back the White House. He’s also pushing Congress to continue the tax cuts made during his first term.
Rather than a single massive package, Congressman Crane is backing a two-bill structure that would have separate priorities and make strategic negotiations easier, a plan senators such as Ron Johnson of Wisconsin still hope to salvage. But House leadership, he said, rejected that idea from the beginning.
“Our leadership has wanted one big, beautiful bill the entire time,” Crane said. “But I knew if we got into this, it was going to turn into something that resembles, in many ways, an omnibus—loaded with things Conservatives don’t support.” His concern is less about what the bill could do than what it will likely fail to do: address the nation’s unsustainable fiscal trajectory.
The federal government is hurtling toward a $2 trillion deficit for this fiscal year, with projections showing another $2 trillion next year. The U.S. national debt stands at $37 trillion and could hit $40 trillion by the 2026 midterm elections if current trends continue. And if deficits remain unchecked, Crane warns the nation could reach a point where it simply can no longer borrow money.
And yet, he feels alone on the bridge, watching the iceberg get closer, shouting warnings no one seems willing to hear. “There are still not enough fiscal Conservatives willing to put themselves in political hot water to actually have the tough conversations, make the tough decisions, and take the tough votes,” he said. “It’s like we’re on the Titanic, screaming that we’re headed toward an iceberg.”
“A lot of people up here want to be congressmen and senators so badly, that’s their crowning achievement in life,” Crane concluded. “They’re more concerned over taking the political easy road than doing the right thing. It’s hard to watch, but that’s just the reality.”