Earlier today, the Senate passed the bill in order to prevent another government shutdown. Earlier, President Donald Trump said that he would go for another shutdown if his demands were not met. He asked for a budget approval to build the wall in the Southern Cross border to prevent illegal immigrations. However, Democratic Party was stalling the bill.
However, the vote hit a roadblock, when Rand Paul demanded an amendment vote on keeping budget caps in place.
“I have been offering all day to vote. I would like nothing more than to vote. However, it is the other side. It’s the leadership that has refused to allow any amendments,” he said.
“Frankly, there are lots of amendments on my side, and it’s hard to make an argument that if one gets an amendment, that everybody else won’t want an amendment, and then we’ll be here for a very long time,” said Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), asking Paul from the Senate floor to hasten the voting process.
Paul kept rejecting the GOP senators requests, including Majority Leader Mitch McConnel.
“I don’t think shutdowns work for anybody. The Schumer shutdown didn’t work, and I don’t think this is going to work either,” Sen. John Cornyn (Texas), the No. 2 Senate Republican said after Paul rejected several of his requests to speed up the vote.
Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) told Paul that he needed to “build a coalition” and “make a difference.”
“You haven’t convinced 60 senators or 51 senators. Go to work, build a coalition, make a difference. You can make a point all you want. But points are forgotten,” said Senator Thom Tillis.
Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) told, “I feel good. Part of it depends on the Democrats. This is a bipartisan bill. It’s going to need bipartisan support,” in an interview with conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt, on Thursday morning.
“We strongly believe that members of the House and their constituents deserve the same dignity that Leader McConnell has extended members of the Senate by allowing for a vote on this issue,” the Democratic letter said.
The agreement increases defense spending by $80 billion in fiscal 2018 and by $85 billion in fiscal 2019, while raising nondefense spending by $63 billion and $68 billion in those years, respectively. This increase in budget will help build the United States most resilient army.