'Terrible Idea': Republicans Criticize Trump's Floated Bailout for Spirit Airlines

President Donald Trump’s interest in a multimillion dollar bailout of Spirit Airlines has prompted concern among several Republican lawmakers.

Earlier this week, Trump said he would “love somebody to buy Spirit” and floated the idea that “maybe the federal government should help that one out.”

Reuters has since reported that the Trump Administration is nearing a deal that could include up to $500 million in government-backed funding, citing three people familiar with the matter.

TIME has reached out to the White House for comment.

Spirit filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy for the second time last August and won approval for an emergency $475 million lifeline in October. 

The company has experienced additional strain in recent weeks as it, along with other airlines, has had to navigate the steep rise in jet fuel prices amid the energy crisis spurred on by Tehran’s chokehold over the Strait of Hormuz since the start of the Iran war on Feb. 28.

The average price of jet fuel in the U.S. has jumped from $2.50 per gallon before the conflict to around $4.23 per gallon, according to Argus Media. 

As such, many airlines have been forced to raise ticket prices and cut low-profit routes.

The White House has blamed the Biden Administration for Spirit’s financial troubles. 

“The [Spirit] airline is bankrupt because the previous Administration blocked the merger, which was probably not a wise move,” said press secretary Karoline Leavitt on Wednesday, referring to JetBlue’s terminated attempt at a $3.8 billion acquisition of Spirit in 2024. 

The Justice Department said at the time that the block protected the United States’ markets—and its market participants—from “anticompetitive harm.”

But Trump’s floating of a federal government bailout being a potential solution for the private-sector company has raised grave concern among lawmakers, sparking debate about government involvement in business.

Read More: U.S. National Debt Soars Past $39 Trillion Amid Concerns Over Cost of Iran War

Placing the blame firmly on Trump’s war with Iran, Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts argued: “Donald Trump’s war with Iran caused the sky-high fuel prices that finally did Spirit Airlines in.”

Querying the impact on the public, she added: “What do the American people get out of this taxpayer bailout? Will the failed airline executives be held accountable?”

Her gripes have been echoed by prominent voices on the right.

Republican Marjorie Taylor Greene, a former Georgia Congresswoman and one-time ally of Trump before their public falling out, argued a move such as this is “not what America voted for.”

“The Trump Admin is going to bail out Spirit Airlines with $500 million of your tax dollars but refuse to do anything to lower the cost of health insurance. Or cost of living. Or gas and diesel,” claimed Greene, who also blamed the Iran war for rising costs.

Several sitting Republican lawmakers expressed similar concerns.

Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas

Sen. Cotton, who sits on the Senate Joint Economic Committee, cast doubt on the federal government’s ability to run Spirit Airlines, should the bailout come to fruition.

“If Spirit’s creditors or other potential investors don’t think they can run it profitably coming out of its second bankruptcy in under two years, I doubt the U.S. government can either,” said Cotton. “Not the best use of taxpayer dollars.”

Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas

Sen. Cruz condemned the potential bailout as an “absolutely terrible idea,” pointing to “the TARP corporate bailouts” as a “huge mistake.”

TARP, or the Troubled Asset Relief Program, was established by the U.S. Treasury in 2008 following the financial crisis. The program provided bailouts to U.S. banks, the auto industry, and families across the country to avoid foreclosure, as well as the government purchasing of troubled companies’ assets and stocks. 

In 2023, the Treasury said that a total of $443.5bn was spent through TARP, and when accounting returns and interest, cost a total of $31.1bn.

Adding to his criticism, Cruz argued: “The government doesn’t know a damn thing about running a failed budget airline.”

Sen. Mike Lee of Utah

Sen. Lee supported Cruz’s argument, stating that “competition among airlines suffers when government bails them out.”

Lee recently joined forces with Sen. Warren of the Democratic Party to raise issue about reports that United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby had met with Trump earlier in the year to discuss a potential merger with American Airlines.

"A merger between United Airlines and American Airlines would create the largest airline in the world, in an industry already plagued by a lack of competition," said Lee and Warren in a public letter.

Among their list of concerns was the potential impact on consumers. 

“First, a United-American merger could lead to increased prices for consumers, at a time when airlines are already squeezing flyers through higher fares and fees,” they argued

Trump in an interview with CNBC this week appeared to distance himself from the merger talks when asked about the matter.

“I don't mind mergers," he said."But with American it's doing fine, and United is doing very well. I know the United people, they're doing very well. I don't like having them merge.”

Sen. Ted Budd of North Carolina

Sen. Budd also made an argument against taxpayer money being used for this purpose.

“Taxpayers pay billions to subsidize Amtrak, even as they boast growing demand and riders,” he said. “Just as Biden’s DOJ shouldn’t have prevented Spirit Airlines from merging with viable partners, Americans shouldn’t be on the hook for another failing business as its competition thrives.”

Transport Secretary Sean Duffy

Concern has been raised within the Trump Administration itself, with Transport Secretary Sean Duffy urging against, what he referred to as, “dumb investments.”

“⁠There's been a lot of money thrown at Spirit, and they haven't found their way into profitability, Duffy told Reuters. “And so would we just forestall the inevitable and then own ⁠that?”

He queried: "If no one else wants to ​buy them, why would we buy them?"