Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) said on Tuesday that he doesn't support a government shutdown, but then proceeded to advocate an approach that was effectively a government shutdown.
Paul, who is running for president, spoke out against a continuing resolution to keep the government funded through mid-December. Both chambers are expected to pass the legislation just in time for the Sept. 30 deadline, but it will only last until Dec. 11.
Asked by CNN's Wolf Blitzer whether he preferred a continuing resolution to shutting down the government, Paul said that he didn't think it was an "either-or situation."
"We should no longer continue to spend money at the same rate we are spending money, so yes, we should let all spending expire and then we should renew those programs that are working," Paul said."It should require a supermajority to get the new programs started."
That would mean shutting down the government and then getting 60 votes in the Senate to fund each individual government program.
Still, Paul insisted that he wasn't pushing a government shutdown.
"I'm not advocating a shutdown, but I am advocating that all the spending expire, that we have a serious discussion of every program to see what's working, what isn't working, what is wasteful and what is duplicative," he said.
Also on HuffPost:
