Rand Paul wants hemp vote to speed up shutdown endgame
Sen. Rand Paul wants a vote on his amendment to strike language from a shutdown-ending spending deal that would "unfairly target Kentucky’s hemp industry" before allowing the bill to clear the Senate.
The Kentucky Republican's objection to allowing the package to proceed without the vote is slowing down Senate GOP leaders as they race to end the 41-day shutdown. Without unanimous consent from all 100 senators, it could take the Senate much of the week to move through procedural votes before sending it to the House for final approval and President Donald Trump's signature.
Paul's insistence on the hemp vote comes after a bruising fight with Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and Rep. Andy Harris (R-Md.) — both senior appropriators — over the language that would crack down on intoxicating hemp products. Paul's one-page amendment would effectively preserve the status quo.
Spokesperson Gabrielle Lipsky said in a statement that Paul "affirms his commitment to reopening the government without delay" and said the hemp provision he is seeking to strike "is unrelated to the budget and the government-reopening goal."
Paul wants a simple-majority vote on the measure, she added in response to a question from POLITICO; GOP senators and aides granted anonymity to describe internal Senate dynamics believe it's unlikely to garner enough support for adoption.
Lipsky added that Paul intends to "work to ensure that the final bill excludes this unrelated language in order to defend the livelihoods of Kentucky farmers, hemp processors, and manufacturing jobs."
Paul also told reporters Monday that he'd agree to speed up the process of advancing the bill to reopen the government once leadership agrees to bring his amendment to the floor, giving him an opportunity to speak out against McConnell's move.
"I'm not looking to hold things up," he insisted. "My goal is to condense the time, have one vote, express my displeasure with them screwing up an entire industry and people will feel ... there's at least been somebody fighting."
He wasn't sure how many lawmakers would support his proposal.
"Many people say, you know, they're from farm states; they have hemp farmers. But then they're told what to do by McConnell, and they do what they're told," said Paul.