It’s definitely not about debt. Based on his performance in office, to say nothing of his actions as a developer, do you think Donald Trump gives a fig about the deficit? Did the January 6 rioters spend any time screaming about federal spending? Do MTG, Lauren Boebert, and Matt Gaetz really care about debt? Please.
No, this is a battle about power. The red base, although a relatively small minority of the electorate, believes it is entitled to run the country, and sees this is an opportunity to prove it is in charge. The Chaos Caucus in the House represents their interests; it wants to run the Republican Party. The remainder of the GOP has historically stuck with the nihilists in order to keep the left out. All of them want to prove that, regardless of what the voters said in November, the Republican Party has both the right and the ability to crash the plane if it sees fit.
The extremists haven’t even named their price yet, which should tell you everything you need to know about their real motivations. If Biden pays anything like the full ransom they are demanding, he will be sending a message to the entire country that the red base and the Chaos Caucus are in charge, and the rest of us are just hapless passengers in a bus that is heading for the ditch. It is consequently imperative for him not to give in.