That Doesn’t Make Any Sense’: Rand Paul Leads GOP Walkout During Hearing After Dem Chair Blocks His ‘Not Germane’ Amendments

Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), the ranking member on the Senate Homeland Security Committee, led a walkout during the markup of the Fire Grants and Safety Act after a tense exchange with Chair Gary Peters (D-MI).

“If this is the way you’re going to run the committee, I would suggest that Republicans leave. I don’t see why we should stick around if you’re going to make up the rules,” Paul demanded of Peters.

Paul was angry over Peters using secondary amendments to effectively undo amendments he offered to the bill that reauthorizes the U.S. Fire Administration, the Assistance to Firefighters (AFG) Grants Program, and the Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) Grant Program.

Paul, who became ranking member of the committee after moderate Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH) retired last term, blasted Peters, saying, This is the first time we’ve had a hearing since I’ve been here that I know of that we’ve gotten second degree amendments on every one of our amendments.”

Peters used additional amendments to undo those offered by Paul, including one that would have made fire departments ineligible for federal grants if they fire employees for not having the Covid-19 vaccine.

“That doesn’t make any sense,” Paul protested at one point as Peters continued to undermine his amendments. “This is legislative legerdemain to obscure the fact that you’re trying to not vote directly on this.

As the meeting turned tense, Sen. Krysten Sinema (I-AZ) tried to mediate a solution saying, “We all take a couple minutes, lower the temperature, just figure out the procedure.”

“There’s no need for us to turn this committee hearing into a partisan, ugly place like we’ve seen in other committees,” Sinema insisted.

Eventually, Paul did indeed walk out, while Sens. Josh Hawley (R-MO) and James Lankford (R-OK) remained and voted against Peters’s amendments, which were eventually passed as the bill was voted out of committee.

The Hill’s Alexander Bolton noted that “the acrimonious scene was a departure from how the Homeland Security Committee operated in 2021 and 2022 when Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) served as the panel’s ranking member. In the recent past, Democrats on the committee have sometimes sat on the Republican side of the dais and vice versa to promote a sense bipartisan camaraderie.”

Paul, who offered amendments on hot-button issues like Covid-19 and “gain of function” research – which he oddly tried to block via the Fire Grants and Safety Act – is a much more polarizing figure on Capitol Hill than Portman was.

Peters, however, told reporters after the markup he still hopes to have a productive relationship with Paul:

I look forward to working with Sen. Paul and hopefully we can find common ground to go forward. Some of the amendments he offered were not germane to the substance of the bill that we were dealing with.

Watch the full clip above.