Trump's Spirit Airlines takeover idea draws backlash from Republicans

President Donald Trump’s idea to have the government “just buy” Spirit Airlines ran straight into Republican free-market orthodoxy, with Sen. Ted Cruz calling it “an absolutely TERRIBLE idea,” Sen. Tom Cotton warning it was “not the best use of taxpayer dollars,” and former Vice President Mike Pence saying conservatives must oppose the plan. The pushback came as Spirit, which has filed for bankruptcy twice in the past two years, faced the possibility of liquidation and a federal rescue that Trump said would be justified if it saved jobs.

The White House was exploring legal tools that would let it intervene without writing a simple bailout check. Officials were looking at the Defense Production Act, including Title 3, which can be used to support industrial capacity and provide loans for national defense purposes. CBS News reported that the Office of Management and Budget had also examined a structure involving the Commerce Department and Pentagon, with the government lending Spirit $500 million and becoming the top debtor in the bankruptcy pecking order.

Trump framed the proposal as a deal, not a giveaway. He said the government could buy the carrier “for the right price” and later sell it for a profit when oil prices fall, while White House aides pointed to Spirit’s dependence on a durable turnaround and the need to preserve service for passengers and employees. But Republicans skeptical of the plan argued that the federal government has no special competence in running a failed budget airline, and Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said the administration should not “put good money after bad.” He added, “If no one else wants to buy them, why would we buy them?”

The stakes go beyond one carrier. Spirit had a nearly $28.3 million operating loss in February, and its May schedule was down to 9,353 flights from 19,575 in May 2025, evidence of how sharply the airline had shrunk as fuel costs rose and demand shifted after the pandemic. A government-backed rescue would set a precedent that Washington can step in as lender, temporary owner and eventual seller of a private airline when the market turns against it, a model that would be hard for Republicans to reconcile with decades of anti-bailout rhetoric.