Free Republic

Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) joined MSNBC’s Stephanie Ruhle this week to discuss President Donald Trump’s plan to create TrumpRX, a government-run website offering discounts on select prescription drugs. Paul, a libertarian leaning Republican, pulled no punches in criticizing Trump’s willingness to intervene in the free market and even went so far as to compare the Trump administration to self-identified socialist New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani. Paul shared his interview on X and wrote, “If you’re going to criticize the socialist Mamdani for wanting to own grocery stores, you better criticize Republicans who want a share of Intel, of...

..... The speakers were complimentary of both Paul and Massie, characterizing them as principled conservatives in the face of criticism. Maddox characterized both Paul and Massie as the “most conservative” legislators in the nation, a comment that elicited applause from the crowd. Paul for his own part called Northern Kentucky a “bastion of conservationism” against liberal interests in Lexington and Louisville. 54-year-old Massie has occupied the House’s 4th congressional district, which includes Northern Kentucky, since 2012. He’s proven to have staying power among the electorate, carrying wide margins to victory in every election since that year.

Republicans are turning the heat back up on the Trump administration for its handling of the Epstein files. Kentucky Representative Thomas Massie torched FBI Director Kash Patel over the weekend after he caught the bureau chief off guard on information that Patel should have already been privy to. “I told Director Kash Patel that the FBI has names of 20 men to whom Jeffrey Epstein trafficked women and girls,” Massie wrote on X. “This basic fact seemed to surprise him. Why? “Is the FBI withholding those names to protect the President’s rich and powerful friends?” Massie continued, before demanding that...

WASHINGTON — Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., said that Federal Communications Commission Chair Brendan Carr's comments threatening to take action against Disney's ABC last week were "absolutely inappropriate." Asked whether Carr's comments, threatening to revoke broadcasting licenses from ABC after late-night TV host Jimmy Kimmel made remarks about Republicans' response to the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, were appropriate, Paul said no. "Brendan Carr's got no business weighing in on this, but people have to also realize that despicable comments, you have the right to say them, but you don't have the right to employment," Paul added.

London Mayor Sadiq Khan, in a Tuesday opinion piece for The Guardian, called out President Trump for boosting “divisive, far-right politics” worldwide in recent years. “We must unite to take on the reactionary populists and nativists who are exploiting economic concerns, the atomisation of modern life and a growing distrust of political and media institutions – something we have seen in countries across Europe and, of course, in the US,” Khan said in his Guardian piece. “President Donald Trump and his coterie have perhaps done the most to fan the flames of divisive, far-right politics around the world in recent...

Rand Paul just grilled ousted CDC official Susan Monarez and exposed the truth about the COVID vaccine on the record. This was an EPIC moment on Capitol Hill. While Big Pharma Senators spent their time praising Monarez, Paul cornered her and demanded answers. And when she tried to dodge, he dropped the hammer. Paul: “Does the COVID vaccine prevent transmission?” Monarez: “The COVID vaccine can reduce viral load in individuals who are—” Paul: “Does it prevent transmission?” Monarez: “When you have reduced viral load… you will have reduced transmission.” Paul: “But in other words, it DOESN’T prevent transmission. You can...

@HHSGov @SenRandPaul questions Susan Monarez on the efficacy of childhood COVID vaccines — and he brings the receipts:

@RandPaul My friend and ally @SecKennedy will be under attack from the establishment of both parties at the Senate HELP hearing tomorrow. I will defend him. Ask you Senator and Senate GOP HELPS members to do the same.

@JasonJournoDC "Charlie Kirk was a guy who was always talking — and I talked to him here. The right-wingers — say what you want about them — but they talk to you." "The left really has much more of a 'I don't talk to you, I don't want to deal with you, you're deplorable, I can't break bread with you' attitude. All the right-wingers — they don't have that attitude." "Charlie Kirk and I certainly don't agree on much politically — but he sat here, he's a human being, he's not a monster!" "I liked him! I like them all!...

@RepThomasMassie During our appearance on ABC this morning, my colleague @RepRoKhanna announced we will have the 218 votes needed for the Epstein discharge petition by the end of this month. When this vote happens, will your congressman vote for transparency and justice… or against?

@RandPaul The establishment will tell you someone can only be re-elected if they bring home the bacon to their constituents. I'm proof-positive that you can promise to fight for liberty, freedom, and the free markets and still get re-elected

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.