The U.S. Senate moved one step closer to averting a government shutdown Friday, though not without a sharp internal dust-up over federal spending. In a 32-67 vote, lawmakers rejected a high-profile amendment from Senator Rand Paul that sought to strip $5.1 billion in refugee welfare assistance from a massive government funding package.
The vote served as a snapshot of a Republican party currently at odds with itself over fiscal priorities. While Paul managed to rally 32 of his GOP colleagues to his side, 20 other Republicans joined a united Democratic front to kill the measure.
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Because the amendment required only a simple 50-vote majority to pass, the defection of those 20 Republicans was the deciding factor.
Paul, the Kentucky Republican known for his relentless focus on the national debt, didn’t pull any punches on the Senate floor. He framed the $5.1 billion as an irresponsible hand-out at a time when the U.S. debt has climbed to a staggering $38 trillion.
Bringing a local headline to the national stage, Paul pointed to recent reports of welfare fraud in Minnesota as a cautionary tale. He argued that the government shouldn’t be cutting billion-dollar checks for refugee programs until a “nationwide investigation” into potential fraud is completed and the federal budget is balanced.
The divide within the GOP leadership was particularly telling. High-ranking members like John Barrasso and Tom Cotton backed Paul’s play, while Senate Majority Leader John Thune and James Lankford voted to keep the funding intact.
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For many of those who voted “no,” the hesitation wasn’t necessarily about the dollar amount, but rather the timing. With a partial government shutdown looming at 12:01 a.m. Saturday, there was a palpable fear that any last-minute changes to the deal could cause the whole funding package to collapse.
Interestingly, the push to pass the bill—refugee funding and all—received a boost from an influential source: Donald Trump. Taking to Truth Social, Trump praised the bipartisan effort to fund roughly 80% of the government through September, urged its passage, and effectively signaled to many Republicans that keeping the lights on was the immediate priority.
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While the Senate is expected to clear the broader appropriations package later tonight, the clock is still ticking. Even if the vote passes, a brief technical shutdown is likely over the weekend since the House of Representatives isn’t scheduled to take up the deal until Monday.
As for Paul, he isn’t backing down. Along with Senators Bill Cassidy and Cynthia Lummis, he is already pushing separate legislation aimed at permanently ending taxpayer-funded benefits for refugees and asylum seekers, ensuring that the debate over federal “handouts” remains front and center in Washington.
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