Senate rejects Rand Paul’s balanced budget plan

Sen. Rand Paul’s plan to slash federal spending by $183.1 billion in fiscal 2020 didn’t survive a procedural hurdle tonight, with the Senate failing to advance the measure in a 22-69 vote.

The Kentucky Republican‘s bill aims to balance the federal budget in five years. Paul’s office said the proposal would yield a $913 billion surplus five years after the budget is balanced.

Sixty votes were needed for the measure to advance.

“This fight is one of the main reasons I ran for office,” Paul

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earlier today. “I want us to spend less. I want our government to do less, and to live within its constitutional power.“

The legislation had not been expected to clear the procedural hurdle. The Senate likely won’t vote this year on the blueprint approved by its own budget panel.

Article originally published on POLITICO Magazine