Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., says he’s airing some grievances “early” ahead of his annual “Festivus” report, where he lists the billions of dollars of “government waste” that were passed over the course of the year.
“In case you were wondering: yes, I’m airing a few of my grievances early. But don’t worry, I’ve got plenty more coming,” Paul tweeted on Wednesday.
On Tuesday, Paul tweeted a picture standing behind a cart holding the 4,155 pages of the bill, stating, “I wonder how long it would take the clerk to read this…”
The cart Paul was standing behind contained posters reading, “1.7 Trillion of Hazardous Debt,” “Beware debt hazard of 1.7 trillion added to the national debt” and “Greatest threat to our national security: 1.7 trillion added to the debt.”
SEN. RAND PAUL MOCKS MASSIVE $1.7 TRILLION OMNIBUS BILL: ‘HAZARDOUS DEBT’
Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., speaks during the COVID Federal Response Hearing on Capitol Hill, June 16, 2022. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
Paul hit back at people who suggested that he’s holding up government spending, saying that lawmakers have had ample time to pass a spending bill. He also said that the trillions of dollars being added to the debt is a threat to national security.
“The process stinks. It’s an abomination. It’s a no good, rotten way to run your government. $6 trillion entity. And they want 24 hours to process this and then they want to go forward,” Paul said.
Paul also said that he’d be “demanding” two amendments, one of which states that “you can’t have all this new spending unless it’s offset.”
Paul also said he’ll be proposing that the PAYGO “rules are increased instead of taking 60 votes to evade the rules. We’re going to ask that it be a two-thirds vote to evade the rules.”
“The American people don’t want this. They’re sick and tired of it. They’re paying for it through the nose with inflation. Adding $1,000,000,000,000 to the deficit will simply fuel the fires that are consuming our wages and consuming our retirement plans. It’s a terrible system. Someone needs to stand up. We’re standing up and we’re going to say no,” Paul wrote.
The omnibus spending bill has created a divide between Republicans as House Minority Leader Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., will reportedly oppose the government funding bill and campaign against it. Senate Republicans negotiated the omnibus with Democrats.
CONGRESS RELEASES SPENDING BILL TO FUND GOVERNMENT THROUGH SEPTEMBER
Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky. (Greg Nash/Pool/AFP via Getty Images/File)
McConnell told reporters on Tuesday that Ukraine is a priority, as the bill provides new funding to help the country fight in its war against Russia.
“Providing assistance for Ukrainians to defeat the Russians is the No. 1 priority for the United States right now, according to most Republicans,” McConnell said.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. responded to critics of the omnibus bill’s timeline on Tuesday after he was pressed by CNN’s Manu Raju.
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Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite/File)
“How is it a functional process to drop a 4,100-page bill this morning and expect a vote on it tomorrow?” Raju asked. “Most of Congress hasn’t had a chance to review this.”
“The bill has been carefully worked on by the Appropriations Committee for a very, very long time,” Schumer responded. “Most of the provisions were well-known weeks and weeks and weeks in advance, and getting this bill done for the American people, which really matters, is the most important thing.”
Fox News’ David Rutz contributed to this report.
