Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) says he plans to delay a $1 trillion “minibus” spending package that must be passed by the end of the day Friday to prevent a partial government shutdown.
“I will delay it because we’re bankrupt and it’s a bad idea to continue spending money at this pace,” Paul told The Hill on Wednesday.
“The spending bills in front of us will result in a $1.5 trillion deficit for the year. We’re borrowing about $1 trillion every three months. It’s a concerning rate of debt accumulation,” 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 postpone final Senate approval of the bill past the weekend, which would lead to a partial government shutdown, Paul shrugged and raised his palms to the air, indicating he hadn’t yet decided 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 work to modify the package, which was created by a small group of congressional leaders and senior appropriators after negotiating with the White House.
Rank-and-file lawmakers haven’t had a chance to review the legislation yet, which Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) informed GOP colleagues would be publicized as soon as Wednesday afternoon.
Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah), another prominent conservative, is urging colleagues to vote against the bill, which is anticipated to include thousands of earmarks, technically prohibited under the Senate GOP conference rules.
“Lawmakers shouldn’t pass bills they haven’t had time to review, debate and adjust. 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.
