Kentucky Republican Sen. Rand Paul, who will be the next chairman of the Senate Homeland Security Committee, said he is willing to raise the debt ceiling but he has conditions.

He spoke to Fox News host Maria Bartiromo on “Sunday Morning Futures” where he said he wants to cut government spending.

“I think we need to make sure the tax cuts become permanent, is the most important. And also important is to make sure we cut spending. We have an annual deficit of $2 trillion, a total debt of $36 trillion. So we have to do something on the spending front and we have to make the tax cuts permanent. That’s a big job. Whether it’s one or two doesn’t matter so much to me,” the senator said.

“On the debt ceiling, I’m one of the conservatives who has never voted to raise the debt ceiling. But there are circumstances in which I would, and I have put those forward before. I have a plan to balance the budget in five years. If we had a speaker with a spine who put forward a budget and a plan to cut spending over a five-year period to balance the budget, I will vote to raise the debt ceiling, because you still have to add debt during that five years,” he said.

“What happens typically — and this is where President Trump is right — since conservatives don’t vote for it, the liberals rule the day and they say, we will vote for the debt ceiling, but only if you spend more and create more debt. So, it backfires. But there’s another alternative. Rather than getting rid of the debt ceiling, you get a speaker with a spine who puts forward a spending plan that actually encourages conservatives like myself and some members of the Freedom Caucus to join on, and we will support raising the debt ceiling, but only if you reform government,” the senator said.

“You have to reform government. This is probably the number one problem affecting the future of our country, is this $36 trillion debt. And we have to do something about it. So, for me, let’s put forward something that cuts spending and then see if we can get all the conservatives on board, where you don’t need Democrat votes at all,” he said.