Rand Paul live tweets his reading of spending bill

Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) began live tweeting his reading of Congress’s 2,232-page spending bill on Thursday.

Paul, who stoked speculation over what he will do ahead of a Friday night deadline to fund the government, has been tweeting out details from the bill as he reads it, counting down the pages he has left to go.

The senator earlier blasted lawmakers for not releasing the massive, $1.3 trillion spending package until Wednesday night, a day before it was to be voted on in the House, calling it “a pox on both Houses — and parties.”

Shame, shame. A pox on both Houses – and parties. $1.3 trillion. Busts budget caps. 2200 pages, with just hours to try to read it.

— Senator Rand Paul (@RandPaul) March 22, 2018

The libertarian-minded senator bashed funding for items like the National Science Foundation and the Department of Energy.

{mosads}

He also referred to the bill as the “terrible, no good, rotten deficit spending bill” and the “crumni-bus.”

As of the publication of this story, Paul had made it to page 485 of the bill, with more than 1,700 pages to go.

Paul caused an hours-long shutdown in February over a short-term spending bill, but it’s unclear if he will take that same course this week.

The House passed the spending bill on Thursday as lawmakers rushed to prevent the third government shutdown this year. The Senate is bracing for a long weekend, with the earliest the Senate could hold an initial vote under chamber rules being early Saturday.

Well here it is, all 2,232 budget-busting pages. The House already started votes on it. The Senate is expected to soon. No one has read it. Congress is broken… pic.twitter.com/izvJlUEgUM

— Senator Rand Paul (@RandPaul) March 22, 2018

2. Remember the $350,000 NSF spent asking if japanese quail are more sexually promiscuous on cocaine?

— Senator Rand Paul (@RandPaul) March 22, 2018 

Page 226 of terrible, no good, rotten deficit spending bill.

I found a kernel of hope: “no funds in this act will be used to support or justify torture.”

— Senator Rand Paul (@RandPaul) March 22, 2018

Page 281 of “crumni-bus”.

CIA retirement funding. Wouldn’t it be great to amend out the retirement benefits of Trump hater John Brennan and Congressional dissembler James Clapper? pic.twitter.com/rRG6qGKcx6

— Senator Rand Paul (@RandPaul) March 22, 2018 

Page 348 of terrible, rotten, no-good budget busting bill, a nugget that I wish we obeyed

sec. 8103: none of the funds may be used in contravention of the War Powers Act

— Senator Rand Paul (@RandPaul) March 22, 2018

Page 447: a little over $30 billion for Dept of Energy

Wonder if anyone would notice if we had no Dept of Energy

Put oversight of nuclear waste in DOD and let supply & demand be our Energy policy

— Senator Rand Paul (@RandPaul) March 22, 2018