GOP Lawmakers Express Doubts on U.S. Stake in Spirit Airlines

President Donald Trump confirmed that officials are thinking about buying a stake in Spirit Airlines. Nearly a dozen GOP lawmakers told Semafor they opposed or harbored significant doubts about the plan to buy a stake in Spirit Airlines. Senate Majority Leader John Thune told Semafor on Tuesday that buying a stake in Spirit Airlines would be a really bad idea and that the government does not want to own airlines.

Thune stated he would share his view with the Trump administration if officials ask. Senate Commerce Chair Ted Cruz told Semafor that a bailout for Spirit Airlines is a terrible idea and corporate bailouts are a mistake. Cruz stated the federal government does not know how to run a budget airline and hopes the idea is put back on the shelf.

Sen. Thom Tillis told Semafor of the Spirit talks, “It’s horsesh*t.” Tillis referenced a 10% stake in Intel, 5 to 10% stakes in three or four mining companies, a golden share in US Steel, and a half-a-billion dollar stake in Spirit Airlines.

Sen. Josh Hawley called the Spirit Airlines proposal “not my favorite thing in the world.” Hawley stated he does not really want to help Spirit Airlines because it is one of the worst in terms of how they treat their customers.

“Why Spirit above everybody else?” a senator told Semafor. “I don’t get it, actually.” A senator stated that right now Congress cannot pass gas around here much less a bill doing a Spirit deal.

The senator stated that Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick is giving the president incredibly bad advice. A senator stated he is concerned about further government involvement in other businesses. “We don’t want to lose a carrier. But it just philosophically troubles me about this endeavor to put money into a private corporation,” the senator said.

The senator is the Commerce Committee’s aviation subpanel chair. A senator stated it is not unreasonable to have a conversation about Spirit Airlines future particularly given potential job losses.

The senator is a Spirit gold-level frequent flyer and his family has frequently used the airline between Ohio and Florida. A White House official told Semafor that criticism of the Spirit Airlines assistance plan is premature since the Trump administration has not released any concrete plan.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said that Congress might need to sign off on a counterproposal from a coalition of carriers.

The counterproposal would see the US government spend $2.5 billion to help a coalition of carriers facing higher fuel costs from the Iran war. A representative stated that if the merger with JetBlue had gone through then there would not be a bailout now.

The representative chaired House Judiciary’s antitrust subpanel during the attempted merger with JetBlue. The representative stated he is opposed to the latest Spirit Airlines proposal and called it rewarding failure. Spirit Airlines is struggling to emerge from its second bankruptcy.

The Biden administration shut down a proposed merger between Spirit Airlines and JetBlue. Two Spirit Airlines creditor groups have signaled they support the bailout plan, as reported by the Financial Times. President Donald Trump suggested importing beef from Argentina last year.

The Trump administration pursued government equity in Intel and Lithium Americas. A representative is a member of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.