Nikki Haley, GOP pols say taxpayers will foot the bill for Biden bank ‘bailout’
Republican presidential hopeful Nikki Haley and GOP lawmakers blasted President Biden on Monday over his decision to rescue deep-pocketed customers of failed Silicon Valley Bank — and predicted taxpayers will wind up the big losers.
“Joe Biden is pretending this isn’t a bailout. It is,” Haley said in a statement. “Now depositors at healthy banks are forced to subsidize Silicon Valley Bank’s mismanagement. When the Deposit Insurance Fund runs dry, all bank customers are on the hook. That’s a public bailout.
“Depositors should be paid by selling off Silicon Valley Bank’s assets, not by the public. Taxpayers should not be responsible,” she added.
US Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) told The Post that Biden and financial regulators were courting even greater inflation — and likely a recession within six months — through Sunday’s deal to guarantee deposits at SVB and New York City’s Signature Bank, even if they exceed the $250,000 federal maximum.
“They would argue it’s to the benefit of everyone to go all-in with their chips on the first few banks. That’s their argument: that they can forestall a run on other banks if they make everybody whole here,” Massie said.
“The problem with that argument is that people are not stupid. They’re going to understand you can’t do this at every bank.”
US Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) accused Biden of bending over backward for SVB due to its client base of liberal-leaning tech startups.
“If First Bank of Midland Texas Oil and Gas failed, you can be sure Biden would not be helping bail them out,” she tweeted. “This bailout is 100% about protecting the donor base of the Democrats and ensuring if you invest in DEI [diversity, equity and inclusion] and ESG [environmental, social, and governance investing] you’ll be just fine!”
A spokesman for Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) accused Biden of sending “a signal to the market that any risk is acceptable and you’re not responsible.”
“The government is providing a full backstop here. The most sophisticated investors are now going to have the insulation and protection of the federal government,” Scott’s spokesman said.
“These were not everyday investors. They were highly sophisticated entities looking to take risks and make a profit.”
US Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) also questioned Biden’s priorities.
“They give money to Silicon Valley Bank. They give money to Ukraine. But no money for East Palestine,” she posted on Twitter.
The head of the conservative Club for Growth, David McIntosh, said in a statement, “The Biden bank bailout is a result of Biden’s failed economic policies.”
“And it will make things worse — other banks and their customers will pay the price, all Americans will suffer, mass inflation will start back up again,” McIntosh said. “Changing the rules after the crash to prop-up liberal investors at the expense of taxpayers is pure crony capitalism.”