Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, came out full throttle against the Trump administration’s proposed plan to bail out Spirit Airlines on Wednesday.
Cruz replied to reports that the administration’s plan would see the U.S. government own up to 90% of the airline. President Donald Trump first floated the idea of buying out the airline on Tuesday.
“This is an absolutely TERRIBLE idea,” Cruz wrote in a statement on X.
“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),” he added.
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Cruz was joined by Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., in pushing back on the plan this week. Cotton argued it was “not the best use of taxpayer dollars.”
“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,” Cotton wrote on X.
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Trump was interviewed on CNBC’s “Squawk Box” on Tuesday and said, “I don’t mind mergers”, suggesting that could help resolve the issues Spirit faces.
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“You know, Spirit’s in trouble, and I’d love somebody to buy Spirit. It’s 14,000 jobs, and maybe the federal government should help that one out,” the president said.
He went on to draw a distinction between a merger involving Spirit and the reports of a possible merger between United Airlines and American Airlines, saying those companies are “doing very well. I don’t like having them merge.”
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy spoke Tuesday at an event on reforms to the nation’s Air Traffic Control system and acknowledged the president’s comments, adding he will look into the matter.
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Spirit Airlines filed for its second bankruptcy in August 2025 amid mounting losses and dwindling cash reserves. The low-cost carrier first filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in November 2024 after unsuccessful merger talks with JetBlue and Frontier.
In late February, Spirit announced a deal that would allow it to exit bankruptcy proceedings by early summer after reaching an agreement with lenders.
The airline told a bankruptcy court the deal would allow it to emerge as a leaner carrier, focusing on routes and time periods with the strongest demand as well as cutting some of its high-cost aircraft leases and improving the utilization of its remaining fleet.
It also planned to expand premium seating options and enhance its loyalty programs to drive repeat business and preserve its low-fare positioning.
Fox Business’ Eric Revell contributed to this report.
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