Pawlenty Aide: Debt Deal 'Nothing To Celebrate'

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) -- Republican Tim Pawlenty's presidential campaign isn't impressed with the debt limit deal in Washington but has stopped short of calling for its defeat.

Alex Conant, a spokesman to the former Minnesota governor, released a statement Monday calling the accord "nothing to celebrate" because it pushes the nation deeper into debt. He says it doesn't do enough to change the course of federal spending.

Pawlenty himself has yet to make a comment on the deal aimed at avoiding an unprecedented default. Some of his 2012 GOP rivals, including Mitt Romney and Michele Bachmann, say they don't personally support the plan. Bachmann, a Minnesota congresswoman, says she'll vote against it.

Federal leaders agreed Sunday to raise America's debt cap while cutting $2 trillion in spending. Votes in Congress are expected soon.

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