Paul demanded changes to the bill before it could be passed.

The United States Senate is currently developing a new bill to authorize deployment of financial aid to Ukraine as they continue to endure invasion from Russia. The bill calls for $40 billion in aid, and in a rare show of bipartisanship, was given the go-ahead from both Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Minority Leader Mitch McConnel. However, despite hopes for a quick passage, the bill has hit a roadblock on the Senate floor.

Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky on Thursday single-handedly delayed a bipartisan effort to quickly send $40 billion in aid to Ukraine, which Congress had tried to fast-track amid the escalating brutality of Russia’s war.https://t.co/R6ndCo1NKh

— The New York Times (@nytimes) May 13, 2022

Kentucky Senator Rand Paul blocked the bill from passage, calling for an additional amendment before he would give his approval. Paul has stated that he wants a special inspector general appointed alongside the authorization of the financial aid. This inspector general would monitor the spending of the aid money to ensure its proper usage.

While multiple Senate members have expressed support for Paul’s idea, many are reluctant to send the bill back, as doing so would likely delay its passage.

Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul has blocked quick passage of a bill to provide Ukraine nearly $40 billion more in aid https://t.co/ZhVN2uF7aY

— The Wall Street Journal (@WSJ) May 12, 2022

“The package is ready to go,” Schumer said. “The vast majority of senators on both sides of the aisle want it. There’s now only one thing holding us back the junior senator from Kentucky is preventing swift passage of Ukraine aid because he wants to add at the last minute his own changes directly into the bill. His change is strongly opposed by many members of both parties.”

“We should vote on Senator Paul’s amendment, and then we should pass the supplemental and we should do it today,” McConnell added.

Assuming Paul doesn’t back down, the passage of the bill, while still likely, will probably be pushed into late next week.