As latest debt crisis approaches, Rand Paul says he won't vote to raise U.S. debt ceiling

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Sen. Rand Paul said Monday he will not vote to raise the nation's debt ceiling, as Congress once again stares down the looming risk of potentially defaulting on America's debts.

"I think it's important that we not make it easy to raise the debt limit," the Kentucky Republican said during a visit to the local company that makes Phocus, a line of caffeinated sparkling water beverages. "In the past, it's usually taken 60 votes, it's usually been subject to the filibuster, and I think that's the way it ought to stay.

"There ought to be some kind of punishment for people who want to borrow so much money, and the punishment is: They need to be on record saying, 'We're going to raise the debt ceiling because we spent too much money last year, or we're spending too much money this year.' So, I'm not for making it easier to raise the debt ceiling."

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Democrats and Republicans in Congress, including Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, are weighing possible ways to deal with the debt ceiling. To avoid default, the limit on how much money the U.S. government can borrow must be increased or suspended before the Treasury Department runs out of money to cover the country's bills, which could happen sometime this month.

Experts say letting the government default on its debts could trigger a financial crisis. Maya MacGuineas, president of the Washington, D.C.-based Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, told The Courier Journal earlier this year that defaulting likely would cause "huge shocks throughout the global economy" and spark a severe economic recession.

Congress faced, and resolved, a similar challenge just two months ago.

In October, McConnell and 10 other Republicans helped Senate Democrats clear the 60-vote threshold necessary to advance legislation that increased the debt ceiling by $480 billion and kept the U.S. from defaulting on its debts.

Paul was not one of those 11 Republicans.

He said Monday he expects Democrats will need to clear that 60-vote threshold again to deal with the debt ceiling this time around. Since the Senate is split 50-50 between the two parties, that means they'll still need some Republicans' help.

"But the people who have the responsibility for this are the people voting for all the spending," Paul said. "I've objected to spending trillions of dollars we don't have, and so I won't vote to raise the debt ceiling."

The Senate must give unanimous consent to break from the chamber's normal rules, which includes that 60-vote requirement. Paul indicated Democrats shouldn't expect such support.

"We'll make them obey the rules," Paul said. "We won't give them permission or unanimous consent to evade the rules on that."

Paul discussed the debt ceiling Monday during a stop at Phocus' office in Louisville. He had come by to honor Phocus, which launched its product in 2017, as the Senate Small Business of the Week.

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"It is a testament to their skill and perseverance that they've made it this long," said Paul of the award he bestowed on the company as the ranking member of the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship.

During his visit, Paul also was asked about his congressional colleague, Rep. Thomas Massie, and the photo he posted online over the weekend of him and his family holding guns in front of a Christmas tree.

Massie tweeted the picture less than a week after four teenagers in Michigan were killed in the nation's latest mass school shooting.

Massie's post had gotten over 81,000 "likes" on Twitter but also attracted a lot of criticism.

Paul did not criticize Massie for the post Monday. He did offer this perspective:

"I think I've gotten Thomas' Christmas card before, and they often have guns in their Christmas card. They live in a rural setting in Lewis County, and they're hunters.

"My guess is that it was sent out in a pre-programmed way. Every year they send out something for Christmas. …But you'd have to ask him. But I don't think it was specifically intended as a statement or in relation to anything else that was going on other than Christmas."

Paul also said: "I know they're big into hunting. I know they shoot snakes, they shoot deer. … And they're big advocates for the Second Amendment and hunting. I think trying to say that it was a statement about something else isn't fair to Thomas Massie."

On Monday, Massie personally discussed the controversial photo in an interview on conservative radio host Todd Starnes' show.

He was dismissive of people tying his family photo to the school shooting in Michigan.

"That was the biggest thing in the media that they could use to try and take me down," Massie said. "I'm going to double down. I'm never going to delete that picture."

Morgan Watkins is The Courier Journal's chief political reporter. Contact her at mwatkins@courierjournal.com. Follow her on Twitter: @morganwatkins26.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Sen. Rand Paul says he won't vote to raise the U.S. debt ceiling