Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) kicked off what will likely be a round of the GOP’s presidential candidates bashing the bipartisan fiscal deal by vowing to filibuster the bill in the Senate. An aide for Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) was quick to point out, however, that Paul can’t do much more than delay the process.
Paul — who has been lagging in the polls — made his vow to block the budget bill Tuesday afternoon in front of a group of reporters in Denver ahead of Wednesday’s GOP presidential debate.
“I will filibuster the new debt ceiling bill,” Paul said, according to the Washington Post. “It is horrible, it’s hard for me not to use profanity describing it.”
Adam Jentleson, Reid’s deputy chief of staff, took to Twitter to throw cold water on the reports of Paul’s filibuster promises.
If there are 60 votes all Senator Paul can do is run out clocks, not block the bill. We’ve been planning for this. https://t.co/tU3zsSGZxz
— Adam Jentleson (@AJentleson) October 27, 2015
According to the Post report, Paul has a few senators willing to join him in slowing down the process — not among them his fellow 2016er Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), who called the deal “slap in the face to conservatives.”
The agreement, announced Monday night, would suspend the debt ceiling through 2017 and establish top-line budget numbers for the next two years of government spending, giving some relief to sequestration caps. It was hashed out by the White House and congressional leaders of both parties. It is expected to be passed in the House Wednesday.
Paul’s team told the Washington Post that slowing down the bill would give conservatives time to rile up their opposition.
Meanwhile, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, a fellow Kentuckian, is urging lawmakers to pass the bill.
“Republicans approached the recent fiscal negotiations with several goals,” McConnell said from the Senate floor Wednesday, pointing to the deal’s increase in defense spending and changes to entitlement programs.
“I urge colleagues to consider these important issues as they continue to examine the agreement,” he said.
