McConnell and Paul vote against debt ceiling bill; Senate rejects Paul's F-16 amendment

The U.S. Senate passed the bill sent by the U.S. House that pushes back the debt ceiling debate until May, but senators rejected an amendment from U.S. Sen. Rand Paul that would block the sale of F-16 fighter jets to Egypt.

Both Kentucky U.S. senators — Paul and Republican Senate Leader Mitch McConnell — vote against the final version of the bill Thursday afternoon that 64-34-2. .

H.R. 235 started in U.S. House of Representatives as a way to extend the debt ceiling without actually raising it from its current level of $16.4 trillion. The aim is to buy Congress time to negotiate ways to begin to cut into the national debt.

As part of Thursday’s debate, the Senate rejected a series of amendments including Paul’s proposal to prohibit the U.S. government from selling F-16 military aircraft, M1 tanks, and similar military weapons to the Egyptian government. The amendment failed 79-19.

Paul said he believes it is necessary because of the relationship between Egypt and Israel.