Rand Paul Announces He Will Filibuster Debt Ceiling Deal

Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) said Tuesday that he will filibuster the budget deal Republican leaders struck with the White House which raises the debt ceiling through 2017.

"I will do everything in my power to stop this steaming pile of legislation," Paul said. "I will filibuster and I urge my colleagues to join my effort."

"The message I'm going to put forward is I'm the only fiscal conservative in the race," the senator added.

The Republican 2016 hopeful made the announcement to a group of reporters before a rally in Denver.

House Republicans are expected to pass the two-year budget deal Wednesday with the help of Democrats. It, however, must be approved by the Senate before being sent to President Barack Obama's desk.

The legislation would suspend the current $18.1 trillion debt limit through March 2017. The budget portion would increase the current “caps” on total agency spending by $50 billion in 2016 and $30 billion in 2017, offset by savings elsewhere in the budget. And it would permit about $16 billion to be added on top of that in 2016, classified as war funding, with a comparable boost in 2017.

This would not be the first time Paul has filibustered something on the Senate floor. In March 2013, the libertarian firebrand held up the nomination of CIA Director John Brenan for nearly 13 hours over questions on his position regarding the use of drones.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

—