The Speaker’s Lobby: Happy New Year as shutdown showdown draws to a close
The Senate did not drag out final passage of the interim spending bill to end the government shutdown.Oh, you may think that happened. Especially after the Senate broke a filibuster...
By Fox News · Fox News
The Senate did not drag out final passage of the interim spending bill to end the government shutdown . Oh, you may think that happened. Especially after the Senate broke a filibuster on the bill just before 11 p.m. ET Sunday night. So why didn’t the Senate just go immediately to final passage? After all, the plan had to go to the House. Flight delays were piling up. Federal workers were at the end of their rope, going without paychecks. SNAP benefits were in limbo. So why not just step it up? Well, it’s more complicated than that. And believe it or not, the Senate kind of did step it up. At least from the Senate’s perspective. REPORTER'S NOTEBOOK: PAUL STANDS FIRM AGAINST SPENDING BILL AS SHUTDOWN CLOCK TICKS There were several Senate factions not ready to vote right away to end the shutdown last Sunday. It was clear the Senate would eventually pass the bill to fund the government. That’s to say nothing of the worsening impacts of the shutdown on a nearly hourly basis. Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., was the only Republican who broke with his party and voted no on the test vote to break a filibuster on the deal to re-open the government. Paul voted nay because he wanted a change in the bill regarding hemp. The measure prevents "unregulated sales" of "intoxicating hemp-based" products at gas stations and small retailers. It preserves the sale of non-intoxicating CBD in other hemp-related products. So, if the Senate got 60 votes Sunday night to break the filibuster and only needs 51 to pass the bill, why was the Senate stymied by Paul or even others? Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., told reporters there was a senator asking for a vote on an amendment that would hold members' pay in escrow during future government shutdowns. This would be in addition to Paul, asking for a vote on an amendment related to hemp policy. Paul's request was previously known. But this additional ask underscores the precarious balance of any unanimous consent agreement in the Senate . Once one senator…