It sure would be nice if people took a moment to gather facts before posting and understand nuance.
Voted against funding bills: During the most recent shutdown, which began on October 1, 2025, Paul voted against both the Republican- and Democratic-backed spending bills intended to keep the government open. He was the sole Republican senator to vote no on the GOP's continuing resolution.
Reasoning for his votes: In an interview with Meet the Press, >>>Paul explained that his opposition was based on his long-standing concerns about the national debt.<<< He noted that the Republican proposal would add about $2 trillion to the deficit, while the Democratic version would add about $3 trillion, stating, "Both plans are seen as moving in the wrong direction".
Support for paying federal workers: Despite opposing the broader funding bills, >>>Paul stated on October 19, 2025, that he would support a stand-alone measure to pay federal employees and troops while the shutdown continued.<<< He specified that this was not the same as supporting an end to the shutdown without addressing spending issues.
WTF don't you understand about a 38 TRILLION dollar debt? The interest on that alone is over a trillion, bigger than the defense budget and, like the debt which will hit 40 trillion in February, it's rising fast. Do you have ANY concept of what this means? Rand Paul's position has NOTHING to do with the Democrat's reasons which are about spending even more and paying for illegals.