Rand Paul and Nancy Pelosi have virtually nothing in common. But on Thursday night, the conservative Kentucky firebrand and San Francisco Democratic leader teamed up to push Washington into what Capitol Hill dwellers are calling the dumbest shutdown fight ever.

Incensed that a bipartisan budget deal would balloon the national debt, Paul delayed a roll call on a long-term budget agreement until after the midnight deadline to fund the government.


That set in motion a shutdown that ultimately lasted just over six hours — even though Paul's protest didn't change a single word of the document, and he knew it wouldn't from the very beginning.

Pelosi, meanwhile, rallied House Democrats against the bipartisan agreement that she herself helped write, threatening to tank the bill in the lower chamber, too.

Democrats withheld their sorely needed votes for a dramatic few minutes on the House floor. But ultimately 73 Democrats defied Pelosi and helped Republicans reopen the federal government without a single concession on immigration, the wedge issue in the faceoff.

"It’s a fascinating display of a bipartisan win and at the same time, Democrats ripping themselves apart about a bipartisan agreement," gloated House Republican Chief Deputy Whip Patrick McHenry (R-N.C.) after the vote. "It doesn’t make any damn sense."

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The entire spectacle was a reminder of the sorry state of Beltway politics. Even a bipartisan deal blessed by party leaders of both chambers can get caught up in extraneous drama.

In fact, a shutdown had been so unthinkable that the Office of Management and Budget did not issue guidance to agencies until dinner time, hours before funding would run dry. Around that time, when Paul took his protest public, exasperated lawmakers and staffers settled in for an all-nighter Thursday evening with the sole purpose of allowing federal employees to show up for work in the morning.

“This is the stupidest thing to happen to Congress in three weeks,” said one Senate GOP aide. “This is even more stupid than the name of the new Kardashian baby [Stormi]. This is dumber than a screen door on a submarine. This is even stupider than the kid who didn’t recognize Justin Timberlake at the Super Bowl.”

Adding to the absurdity was the pile-on from Paul's own party. The longer he dug in, the more annoyed Republicans got.

"You haven't convinced 60 senators or 51 senators that your idea is good enough for them to support," Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) upbraided Paul during a tit-for-tat on the Senate floor. "Go to work, build a coalition, make a difference. You can make a point all you want. But points are forgotten. There's not a whole lot of history books about the great points of the American Senate."

One retiring Republican lawmaker, Rep. Charlie Dent of Pennsylvania, went even further.

“When Rand Paul pulls a stunt like this, it easy to understand why it's difficult to be Rand Paul's next door neighbor,” said Dent, referring to the neighbor who assaulted Paul last year, breaking several of his ribs and sending him to the hospital. “The whole delay and filibuster exercise on the budget agreement is utterly pointless.”

Paul’s sideshow wasn’t entirely surprising. The arch-conservative has frequently used procedural delay tactics to gum up legislation he opposes, particularly on spending and spying powers, when his opposition was plainly in vain. But the last time he really went there was in 2015, so senators might have downplayed the possibility of it happening this time around.

Paul believed it was entirely appropriate — even necessary — to cause some pain in order to call attention to what he believes is a monstrosity of a bill. He also wanted to highlight the broken process: congressional leaders in both parties dropping a massive and expensive 652-page bill just over 24 hours before the shutdown deadline.

To end his blockade, Paul demanded a vote on keeping strict budget caps in place, which would essentially undo the entire deal. But even if his amendment reached the floor, Paul was fully aware it wouldn’t pass.

"I have been asking all day. I have been asking all week for it," Paul said of the vote. "We could have literally had dozens of votes today, but we squabble because people don't want to be put on the spot. So the reason I'm here tonight is to put people on the spot."

Senate GOP leaders weren't about to give Paul the vote he wanted.

“Why reward bad behavior?” asked the normally mild-mannered Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn (R-Texas), who unloaded on Paul Thursday night.

Paul's protest delayed a Senate vote into the wee hours of the morning. Once the Senate passed the measure — which it did on a definitive 71-28 vote shortly before 2 a.m. Friday — the spending bill went to the House for a little more drama.

Pelosi for months had been stressing that she would not back any long-term budget deal without a solution for so-called Dreamers. She'd hoped to hold out longer for an immigration deal. But Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) forced her hand earlier this week when he struck a budget detente without an immigration fix with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.).

While Pelosi praised the contents of the budget text, calling the legislation “good” in a press conference Thursday, she stuck to her position until the bitter end Friday morning: that she would withhold her support and vote “no” without a promise from Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) to put a bill for Dreamers on the floor.

Pelosi never got that promise. And Republicans were rewarded for daring her conference to vote against $300 billion in defense and domestic priorities as well as disaster aid for hurricane victims and a debt ceiling increase. After a stare-down in which Democrats didn't vote for several minutes, a large chunk of Pelosi's caucus abandoned her.



The House passed the legislation 240-186, ending perhaps the shortest shutdown ever.

