Senate

Rand Paul vows to hold up $1T ‘minibus’ that must pass by Friday

by Alexander Bolton - 03/20/24 11:38 AM ET

Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) says he will hold up a $1 trillion “minibus” spending package that needs to pass by the end of the day Friday to avoid triggering a partial government shutdown.

“I will hold it up primarily because we’re bankrupt, and it’s a terrible idea to keep spending money at this rate,” Paul told The Hill on Wednesday.

“The spending bills before us will lead to a $1.5 trillion deficit for the year. We’re borrowing about $1 trillion every three months. It’s an alarming pace of accumulation of debt,” he said.

“My opposition to this will be based on how much” the package would add to the U.S. debt, which now stands at $34.5 trillion, he added.

Asked if he would delay final Senate passage of the bill past the weekend, which would trigger a partial government shutdown, Paul shrugged and lifted his palms to the air, signaling he hadn’t decided yet how long to delay it.

Funding for the departments of Defense; Labor; Health and Human Services; State; and other federal agencies will expire at 11:59 p.m. on Friday.

The Kentucky lawmaker said he would seek to amend the package, which was crafted by a small group of congressional leaders and senior appropriators after negotiations with the White House.

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Rank-and-file lawmakers haven’t yet had a chance to review the legislation, which Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) told GOP colleagues would be made public as soon as Wednesday afternoon.

Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah), another prominent conservative, is urging colleagues to vote against the bill and its numerous expected earmarks, which are technically banned under the Senate GOP conference rules.

“Lawmakers shouldn’t pass bills they haven’t had time to review, debate and amend. Spending bills are no exception. Ignoring this truth has contributed to our $34 trillion national debt,” Lee posted on X, the social media site formerly known as Twitter.

Tags appropriations Mike Johnson Mike Lee national debt Rand Paul Rand Paul shutdown