GOP Sen. Paul vows to stall second budget package as Friday deadline looms

Kentucky Republican Sen. Rand Paul on Wednesday indicated that he would obstruct passage of a $1 trillion budget package containing the second half of the government's annual funding.

With funding set to expire on Friday, approval of the package by the deadline is necessary to avert a partial government shutdown. Collectively, it includes funds for the departments of State, Defense, Labor, and Health and Human Services, as well as other government agencies.

Speaking to The Hill, Paul cited the mounting national debt as his primary motivation.

"I will hold it up primarily because we’re bankrupt, and it’s a terrible idea to keep spending money at this rate," he said. "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."

Earlier this month, President Joe Biden signed the first half of the budget package, which collectively funded the departments of Veterans Affairs, Agriculture, Commerce, Justice, Energy, Interior, Transportation, and Housing and Urban Development.

Ben Whedon is an editor and reporter for Just the News. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter.