Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) clashed with Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) over a bill to provide disaster relief funding to parts of Virginia and North Carolina recently devastated by a hurricane.
In a Senate floor speech on Thursday, Tillis called for the relief bill to be passed by unanimous consent. However, Paul demanded an amendment to pay for the bill with funds from green energy programs. The Kentucky senator also complained about unrelated bills that funded the defense of Ukraine.
Tillis asked Paul to yield for questions, but he refused before the two men began to argue.
"Order in the Senate!" the Senate president pro tempore demanded.
"Look, our state motto is esse quam videri," Tillis said. "It says to be rather than to seem. This is a disingenuous offer to amend my bill."
Tillis suggested Paul would use the ruse as a fundraising effort by claiming he was fighting to end the Green New Deal.
"This bill, if it got amended, has no prayer," the North Carolina lawmaker continued. "I came to the Senate to make a difference, not to make a point."
"I assume that Senator Paul knows how to count votes," he added. "He has to know that he doesn't have the votes to get this bill done if it's amended. To be rather than to seem."
"I'm focused on getting North Carolina back on track and not playing a game on this Senate floor. I'm going to object to this, Mr. President, in a minute, because it's a game."
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Tillis then dared Paul to take his complaints about funding for Ukraine to areas of North Carolina devastated by the hurricane.
"And I'll see if they're as worried about that or if they're just worried about making sure that their families have a place to live and their businesses have a chance to survive," Tillis remarked. "Mr. President, I object."
The Senate moved on to other business without a vote after Tillis objected to Paul's amendment.
