Senator Rand Paul Single-Handedly Holds Up $40bn for Ukraine War

Rand Paul is to Senate as Anti-Empire is to alt media

“But Paul was not moved.”

Source: The Guardian

The top Democrat and Republican in the US Senate joined forces in a rare moment of unity on Thursday in an attempt to pass $40bn in aid for Ukraine, only to be stymied by a single Republican lawmaker: the Kentucky libertarian Rand Paul.

Faced with the prospect of an extended delay for the package that passed the House of Representatives on Tuesday, the Senate majority leader, Chuck Schumer, and his Republican counterpart, Mitch McConnell, sought to move forward on the aid package only to be blocked by Paul, a fiscal hawk who objects to the amount of spending proposed.

The stalemate delayed passage of the measure into next week.

The Senate has scheduled an initial procedural vote on the bill for late Monday afternoon.

It was unclear whether that vote would then speed passage of the Ukraine aid. Alternatively, passage could come around the middle of next week if any senator wants to force a series of legislative steps before a final vote.

As the Ukraine aid bill became caught in the Senate’s procedural gears, Schumer pleaded for fast action: “The package is ready to go, the vast majority of senators on both sides of the aisle want it.”

He added: “If Senator Paul persists in his reckless demands … all he will accomplish is to single-handedly delay desperately needed Ukraine aid.”

But Paul was not moved.

The delay into next week could cause problems for western countries trying to bolster Ukraine in its fight against Russia.

The Biden administration has said that by 19 May it expects to run out of available funds to draw on under an authority that allows the president to authorize the transfer of weapons without congressional approval in response to an emergency.

Paul is demanding that the legislation be altered to require an inspector general to oversee spending on Ukraine. Without his agreement, the Senate must follow a lengthy process stipulated by the chamber’s arcane rules.

McConnell, Paul’s fellow senator from Kentucky, weighed in, saying: “Ukraine is not asking us to fight this war. They’re only asking for the resources they need to defend themselves against this deranged invasion. And they need this help right now.”

The House passed the Ukraine spending bill by 368 to 57, with only Republicans voting against it.

Joe Biden had asked Congress to approve an additional $33bn in aid for Ukraine. But lawmakers decided to increase the military and humanitarian funding.

“This is the second spending bill for Ukraine in two months. And this bill is three times larger than the first,” Paul said before formally blocking the aid package. “Congress just wants to keep on spending, and spending.”

The aid package had previously included more spending for dealing with Covid-19 in the US, but the two causes were decoupled after Republicans balked.

3 Comments
  1. ken says

    Wow,,, Someone in the US Reichstag mentioning the constitution! How quaint!

  2. Wubble Gubble says

    I have always been an admirer of both Ron Paul as well as Rand Paul, but in witnessing the unraveling of the plandemic for the last couple of years, I now view them both as little more than gatekeepers.

    How many times in example, has Rand been up as he is now, but bringing light to Fauci or ANYTHING covid related?
    Take, note how nothing transpired from any of Rands words regarding covid and Fauci!

    The only one’s running the show are the Davos cartel, politicians are all bought and controlled… Evidence is easy,, any alleged servants of the people that cherish liberty would have already quashed this democide, but you see, the u. s. government has been in lockstep with the globalists planned depoplulation of this plane we reside upon.

    nssm200.com/

  3. Klipfisk says

    One small point of light in a sea of darkness…

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