When U.S. Senator John Curtis (R-UT) was asked by CNN’s Manu Raju, “What issues are Republicans and Democrats not telling the truth about to the American public?,” Curtis replied: “When it comes to debt and deficit, we’re not being honest, and we’re equally not being honest when we weaponize fear.”
Curtis contends that Congress will not take away benefits for the vulnerable and senior citizens, “reforming these programs doesn’t mean that we have to take those benefits away. It never has and never will.”
Curtis, who has said he wants some serious changes to President Trump’s “big, beautiful bill,” was also asked what has Trump done so far “that has caused you the most concern.”
Curtis replied: “If we’re not careful, we’ll destroy small businesses with tariffs.”
When asked if Trump should pull back on the tariff policy, Curtis said: “I think what small businesses would ask for even more is consistency.”
GOP Sen. John Curtis says “when it comes to debt and deficit, we’re not being honest” and wants serious changes to House’s bill
On tariffs: “If we’re not careful, we’ll destroy small businesses with tariffs.”
On DOGE: “It lacked what people saw as compassion and thoughtfuness.” pic.twitter.com/9raRvGDPF7
— Manu Raju (@mkraju) May 19, 2025
Curtis laughed when Raju asked the Senator: “Is it possible to be independent in the GOP, in this era of Trump?”
He answered, “I think we serve the President best when we do act and function more like a board of directors.”
He added, “You wouldn’t want a board of directors to rubberstamp the president of a company, right. We do our job best when we tell President Trump what we see, what we think, what we feel. We’re another set of eyes for him, and a set of hands, and I really think the best way to make President Trump successful is to let him know when we disagree.”
Below is Sen. Curtis’s first speech on the Senate floor. (He assumed office in January, after serving in the House for eight years, and as Mayor of Provo for seven years.)
This week, I stood for the first time on the Senate floor and said to Democrats and Republicans: we are not being honest with the American people when we pretend that Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid don’t need reform.
We must stop kicking the can down the road.… pic.twitter.com/A2V7WUB6FV
— Senator John Curtis (@SenJohnCurtis) May 16, 2025