'Dumb': Republicans lash out over Trump’s $500 million bailout for troubled airline

U.S. Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) USA 2026 in Grapevine, Texas, U.S., March 28, 2026. REUTERS/Daniel Cole

In August 2024, troubled Spirit Airlines filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection a second time. And in late April, President Donald Trump said he would "love" for "somebody to buy Spirit" — adding that "maybe the federal government should help that one out."

After that, Reuters reported that according to three sources, the Trump Administration was close to a deal that could give Spirit up to $500 million in government funding.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, meanwhile, is blaming the Biden Administration for Spirit's problems. In 2024, Biden officials blocked JetBlue's efforts to buy Spirit, citing monopoly concerns.

Some Republicans are now voicing their opposition to a possible Spirit bailout.

CNN's Aaron Blake, in an article published on April 23, reports, "For more than a year, Republicans in Washington have largely stood by as President Donald Trump staged a series of remarkable government interventions into private business. The moves flew in the face of decades of conservative, free-market-capitalist orthodoxy. Some of them have even sounded a lot like, well, socialism. But the (Trump) Administration's interest in Spirit Airlines is testing the GOP's laissez-faire approach…. Importantly, CNN reports the administration's proposal is expected to include the federal government taking a stake in Spirit, as it has in several other companies over the past year."

One of the Republicans who is voicing his opposition to a possible Spirit bailout is Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas).

When Thrifty Traveler Editor Kyle Potter noted, in an April 22 post on X, that "the potential bailout of Spirit could result in the federal government owning up to 90 percent of the airline," Cruz responded, "This is an absolutely TERRIBLE idea. The TARP corporate bailouts were a huge mistake & the government doesn't know a damn thing about running a failed budget airline (that the Biden admin killed)."

Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Arkansas), on April 22, tweeted, "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 US Government can either. Not the best use of taxpayer dollars."

During an April 21 appearance on CNBC, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said of a possible Spirit bailout, "The president says take a look, and he is my boss. And so we will take a look."

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

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