'Blew up': GOP Senate lunch chaos as members 'fume' over Rand Paul demand

U.S. Senate Republicans erupted with fury during a lunch on Friday after Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) demanded a vote on a proposed amendment to the House's continuing resolution (C.R.) that would fund the government for the next six months, Punchbowl News reported.

The Republican-led House passed the C.R. before leaving town earlier this week and handed it over to colleagues in the Senate. However, the GOP Senate didn't have the 60-vote supermajority necessary to bring the C.R. up for a vote, as Democrats refused to support the measure without amendments. Democrats told Raw Story on Thursday that a 30-day extension would give them the time needed to negotiate a bipartisan agreement.

But Paul wants "a vote on an amendment expressing support for what Rubio has done by cutting foreign aid."

Senior Punchbowl News congressional reporter Andrew Desiderio wrote on X that "Republicans fumed" at Paul during the caucus lunch because he wants the amendment.

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Republicans "blew up at him because supporting it means the House has to come back, and opposing it would look like they’re undercutting the Trump administration."

Without passage of another C.R., the government shuts down after 11:59 p.m. on Friday.

Paul initially opposed the C.R., he said, because it maintains spending levels he wanted to see significantly reduced. He told reporters Wednesday that it would "lead to a $2 trillion deficit."

In 2023, Paul similarly opposed a debt ceiling increase demanding "spending reform" in a floor speech.

See the full X post here.