Photos: Vern Buchanan, Greg Steube.

President Joe Biden signed a spending bill this weekend to raise the national debt ceiling by as much as $4 trillion. But the officials representing the Sarasota-Bradenton area all spoke against the deal.

Both U.S. Reps. Vern Buchanan, R-Longboat Key, and Greg Steube, R-Sarasota, voted in April in favor of a spending deal passed by the Republican-controlled U.S. House that would have hiked spending by about $1.5 trillion. But that wasn’t acceptable to the Democrat-controlled Senate or the White House. That set off weeks of negotiations between Speaker Kevin McCarthy and Biden to the deal ultimately signed into law.

Buchanan said the deal falls short of needed reductions in federal spending.

“Nobody wants to default on our debt, but neither can we afford to keep spending money we don't have,” he posted on social media. “Very disappointed to see this bill increase the national debt by $4 trillion in half as many years and do very little to actually get our fiscal house in order. A vote for this bill is a vote for reinforcing Washington’s wasteful spending habits.”

Steube also said he couldn’t support the legislation.

“While I was originally optimistic about some of the conservative wins found in the negotiated debt ceiling package, I have read the bill, heard from hundreds of my constituents, and ultimately cannot in good conscience vote for this legislation,” Steube said.

“House Republicans acted responsibly weeks ago by passing a plan to address America’s fiscal crisis and Speaker McCarthy successfully forced President Biden to the negotiating table. I supported that plan, and I was prepared to support a good-faith compromise. But this bill does not go far enough to address Washington’s spending problem.”

The bill passed in the House 314-117. Buchanan and Steube were among 71 Republicans in the House to vote against the final deal. The Senate passed the package on a 63-36 vote. Both U.S. Sens. Marco Rubio, R-Florida, and Rick Scott, R-Florida, voted against it as well.

Biden defended the deal as testament to the power of compromise.

“This is vital because it’s essential to the progress we’ve made over the last few years — is keeping full, faith, and credit of the United States of America and passing a budget that continues to grow our economy and reflects our values as a nation,” Biden said in a televised address.

Photos: Vern Buchanan, Greg Steube.