Free Republic

Republican senators were appalled by President Trump’s rough treatment of 91-year-old Sen. Chuck Grassley (Iowa), the Senate’s most senior Republican, on social media and are pushing back on Trump’s attempts to squeeze the senator into abolishing an arcane procedure known as the Senate blue slip. GOP senators were not pleased that Trump piled so much pressure on Grassley, the chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, to get rid of a long-established Senate tradition. Trump piled on by reposting on Truth Social posts accusing Grassley of being a “RINO” and “sneaky” and standing in the way of Trump’s agenda. Sen. Thom...

As Elon Musk moves to create a third party to upend America’s political system, he’s spoken with one-time Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang about the nascent effort. Yang, the 2020 White House contender and founder of the independent Forward Party, said in an interview that he has been “in touch” with Musk and his team. “I’m excited for anyone who wants to move on from the duopoly,” Yang said. “And I’m happy to help give someone a sense of what the path looks like.” He did not respond to follow-up questions about when they spoke and what else they discussed....

The Senate blocked an effort Friday to prevent President Trump from taking future military action against Iran without authorization from Congress, less than a week after he directed strikes aimed at the country’s nuclear capabilities. Senators voted 47-53 largely along party lines against the war powers resolution. Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) was the lone GOP lawmaker to vote with Democrats. Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.), an ardent backer of Israel, voted with Republicans.

@RandPaul Let me be totally clear: I will not vote to send one American soldier to Iran. Not one.

During a Tuesday Fox News appearance, Paul, a Republican with strong libertarian convictions, told Mornings with Maria host Maria Bartiromo that he was not voting for the bill. 'I'm enthusiastically for the tax cuts, I voted for them in 2017 I helped to formulate those tax cuts in 2017,' Paul stated. 'I will not be the deciding vote against this, I promise you that. If I'm the deciding vote against this, they will negotiate with me.' 'Right now they are not negotiating with me, because they don't think they need me, so I will not be the deciding vote. The...

... I urge President Trump to stay the course, keep putting America first, and to not join in any war between other countries. Every American should hope and pray for peace.

Even wars have rules. They don't stop soldiers killing each other but they're intended to make sure that civilians caught up in the fighting are treated humanely and protected from as much danger as possible. The rules apply equally to all sides. If one side has suffered a brutal surprise attack that killed hundreds of civilians, as Israel did on 7 October 2023, it does not get an exemption from the law. The protection of civilians is a legal requirement in a battle plan. That, at least, is the theory behind the Geneva Conventions. The latest version, the fourth, was...

@RandPaul We can cut the proposed border funding in half, from $150 billion to $75 billion, and still secure our border and protect the American people. Let me give you an example of how this is excessive. Let’s take the proposed border wall. Proposed fence cost: $46.5 billion Actual fence cost: $6.5 billion How did I come up with that number? Math based on costs, according to Border Patrol. $6.5 million per mile x 1,000 miles of border wall = $6.5 billion Where is that extra $40 billion going? I’m all for hiring new people to help secure our borders,...

You can’t make this up.

If you have walked the deep political weeds with us, you will likely remember the warnings. Thomas Massie, Chip Roy, Rand Paul and other fellow republican travelers will join with Elon Musk and the alligator emoji network to oppose President Trump as soon as they can get back into the minority.There is an intention behind this alignment of interests, which includes the Tech Bros (and Sea Island), that ends with a Vance-DeSantis promoted effort in 2028. The only thing standing in their way is MAGA. As a result, MAGA must be fractured.The money center behind the strategy is working on...

From X https://x.com/catturd2/status/1930037840731046281 In 2015 in a debate in the Republican primary, Donald Trump completely owned and humiliated Rand Paul. I mean,Trump destroyed him. 10 years later, Rand hasn’t gotten over the humiliation. He’s been voting against Trump no matter what he does ever since. This is what it’s all really about. 100%, President Trump, ended his presidential dreams with one line, and he has never gotten over it https://x.com/i/status/1930040325965254891 Video clip of the debate exchange. https://x.com/LangmanVince/status/1930040325965254891

President Trump slammed conservative Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) on Tuesday for pledging to vote against his “big, beautiful bill”, accusing the Kentucky lawmaker of voting “NO on everything” and “never” having “practical or constructive ideas.” Paul said he could vote for the 1,116-page budget reconciliation bill that passed out of the House last month if it didn’t include language to raise the federal debt ceiling by $4 trillion. Paul’s comments sparked Trump to fire back on social media, accusing Paul of having “crazy” ideas. “Rand votes NO on everything, but never has any practical or constructive ideas. His ideas are...

@RandPaul The American people, like the Great People of Kentucky, do not support Biden spending levels and $5T in new debt. Therefore, I will not. It’s simple.** My Notes / paraphrasing for FR Only *** Rand: This (BBB) is a Military Industrial Complex bill... They love it as it's padding out defense spending by around 320 billion dollars in new money... (I can't vote for that) On tariffs: I spoke to the President about the tariffs this week. He did most of the talking and we dont agree.... I talk to people in Kentucky and none of them support the...

Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., said on Sunday that he would support President Donald Trump's "big, beautiful bill" if the debt ceiling hike was removed. Paul told CBS' "Face the Nation" host Margaret Brennan that he and three other Republican senators will hold out against the bill unless it is modified. "I think there are four of us at this point, and I would be very surprised if the bill at least is not modified in a good direction," Paul said. "I want the tax cuts to be permanent. But at the same time, I don't wanna raise the debt ceiling...

Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul and Florida Sen. Rick Scott, at fundraisers in Iowa this week, sought to explain to the Republicans who are poised to have the first say in picking the party’s 2028 presidential nominee why they want to put the brakes on the “big, beautiful” bill that contains much of President Donald Trump’s agenda. But Sue Cheek, a resident of Eldridge nearby, didn’t want to hear it. “We are the ones that elected Trump. This is what we wanted him to do. So let him do it,” she told CNN minutes before Scott took the stage at a...

WASHINGTON — U.S. Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) told Breitbart News exclusively that the neocons have lost the hearts and minds of the American public who are firmly with President Donald Trump’s America First vision on foreign policy, but that they are still very powerful behind the scenes in the swamp in Washington and trying to secretly “undermine” the president’s push for peace worldwide. “I think in the first term, one of the most remarkable achievements, and it really wasn’t so much anticipated, was the Abraham Accords,” Paul told Breitbart News. “A lot of that was Jared [Kushner], but also President...

@RandPaul The national debt is over $36.9 TRILLION! That equates to: 👤More than $107,000 per citizen 💰More than $323,000 per taxpayer 💸Debt-to-GDP ratio of 122%

President Trump has returned from the Middle East to mounting questions about whether it’s appropriate for him to accept a luxury Qatari jet to serve as the next Air Force One, including from Republicans increasingly dubious that the move is a smart and worthwhile idea. Republicans have given the president a wide berth on a multitude of issues throughout his first four months in office as they push to enact his agenda. However, very few are rushing to his defense after he made clear he plans to accept the $400 million gift. “It’s an unnecessary distraction,” one Senate Republican told...

@RandPaul I'm not afraid to make the tough decisions, even if it means I'm standing alone.

"GOP Sen. Rand Paul says he expects to have enough votes in Senate to pass resolution to effectively block Trump’s tariffs. But Paul, who expects the vote Wednesday, attacked Speaker Johnson’s move to block such resolutions as “dishonesty.”" *** The background to this, via Politico: The White House warned that Trump will veto a bipartisan Senate resolution that would terminate his sweeping global “Liberation Day” tariffs. The statement of administration policy from the Office of Management and Budget, sent to congressional offices Monday, comes ahead of an expected vote this week forced by several Democrats led by Sen. Ron Wyden...