Free Republic

Attorney General Pam Bondi has admitted that the Justice Department (DOJ) made mistakes in handling the Jeffrey Epstein files, including errors in redacting sensitive information, according to a letter sent to federal judges. The disclosures, detailed in a court filing in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, come amid mounting scrutiny of the department’s handling of victim privacy and compliance with the Epstein Files Transparency Act. Under the bill, which was signed into law on November 19, 2025, the Justice Department was required to release all unclassified records, communications, and investigative materials concerning Epstein within...

WASHINGTON — Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., leads a committee on Capitol Hill that has jurisdiction over the Department of Homeland Security. That agency has been under heightened scrutiny after federal agents shot and killed two U.S. citizens who were protesting immigration enforcement operations in Minneapolis last month. In letters to the heads of three federal immigration agencies, Paul wrote, “The Department of Homeland Security has been provided an exceptional amount of funding to secure our borders and enforce our immigration laws. Congress has an obligation to conduct oversight of those tax dollars and ensure the funding is used to accomplish...

@RandPaul The Somali fraud exposed a broken system. Instead of reform, Washington spent $5B more. If Republicans can’t cut a fraction of the deficit, they aren’t serious about debt. See how your senator voted:

@RepThomasMassie Ouch, I thought Switzerland was neutral territory !

Iran has warned it will retaliate if attacked by the US, as protesters defied a deadly government crackdown on Saturday night. Videos verified by the BBC and eyewitness accounts appeared to show the government ramping up its response to the protests, which have spread to more than 100 cities and towns across every province in Iran. Medics at two hospitals have told the BBC that more than 100 bodies had been brought in over a two day period. The nationwide death toll is feared to be far higher. The US has threatened to strike Iran over the killing of protesters....

Sen. Rand Paul expressed concerns Sunday over President Donald Trump’s threats to bomb Iran as the Middle Eastern country sees widespread protests continue. Speaking with ABC’s “This Week,” the Kentucky Republican said he is not sure striking Iran “will have the effects intended.” “We wish freedom and liberation the best around the world, but I don’t think it’s the job of the American government to be involved with every freedom movement around the world,” Paul said.Paul also expressed concerns over how the administration would distinguish between Iranian protesters and law enforcement if Trump were to approve military action in the...

Five Senate Republicans joined with Democratic lawmakers in a surprise rebuke of President Donald Trump Thursday, voting to advance legislation that would force the commander in chief to seek Congress’ OK before taking any additional military action in Venezuela. Trump attacked the lawmakers in a Truth Social post after the procedural vote, saying they “should never be elected to office again” and that the measure they supported “greatly hampers American Self Defense and National Security.” Here’s a closer look at each of the GOP lawmakers and how they explained their votes: Rand Paul of Kentucky: Paul was a co-sponsor of...

WASHINGTON — The Senate fired a warning shot at President Donald Trump, voting Thursday to advance a bipartisan resolution to block him from using military force “within or against Venezuela” unless he gets prior approval from Congress. The vote of 52-47 on the war powers measure came after an unsuccessful plea by Republican leaders to sink it and preserve Trump’s authority, as he threatens a “second wave” of attacks on Venezuela. Trump has declared that the U.S. would “run” the country temporarily after he ordered a military operation last week to capture and extradite leader Nicolás Maduro. Five Republicans joined...

Forgive me, but I've had two recent breaks and left wondering why and how to avoid them in future! I think they want less posts about Rand which is fine. He's only been in the news recently because of disagreement with Trump on a few issues. If you disagree with Trump and are a prominent politician i.e a U.S senator the media take a natural and close interest and yes, I know it's not helpful but that's not my fault. This explains why. Prior to this Rand struggle(d) to get coverage in the last 15 years he is after all...

@RandPaul The true cost of the tariffs 👇

Sen. Rand Paul attacked the economic logic of President Donald Trump’s aggressive tariff strategy on Sunday — and agreed that the policies raise constitutional concerns. The Kentucky Republican said Trump’s sweeping tariffs on foreign trading partners are based on “an economic fallacy” about trade deficits and objected to the president’s move to pursue them without congressional approval during an interview on ABC’s “The Week.” “In the past, the court has allowed these things, but I think it’ll be an interesting thing because most tariffs in our history have been passed by Congress,” he said. “We’ve never had widespread tariffs that...

@tomselliott Sen. @RandPaulon @SpeakerJohnson's "obscene" spending bill: "No conservative should support raising the debt ceiling $5 trillion. So, that alone is enough for me not to support the bill, even though I support large segments of the bill."

@RandPaul Tune in now - I’ll be live on the Senate floor soon talking trade and tax policy.

"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...

So far, American consumers have been shielded from much of the impact. But as the world of international shipping adjusts to his policies, the president is facing a potential reckoning. With the US-China trade war starting to gum up container traffic between the world’s two biggest economies, freight companies are warning of plunging bookings and a surge in “blank sailings” – where ports are skipped or voyages are called off altogether. Earlier this week, America’s most powerful retail executives trooped into the White House to deliver a blunt prognosis: tariffs on Chinese goods risked causing “empty shelves” in two weeks...

Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., is continuing his push against President Donald Trump's tariffs, with legislation he is co-sponsoring against them to come before the Senate next week. Paul says lawmakers should be in control of tariffs, rather than Trump, through the use of a national-emergency law. The discussion will come less than a month after Paul was one of the only two chamber Republicans to vote against his party's budget, which is seen as a key part of the president's tax cuts, The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday. "I don't have any bad feelings towards the president, but this is...

WASHINGTON — Many Republican lawmakers lie low when they have differences with President Trump. Sen. Rand Paul has taken the opposite approach. “Congress needs to grow a spine, and Congress needs to stand up for its prerogatives,” the Kentucky Republican told reporters, complaining that Trump relied on a national-emergency law to impose tariffs that Paul believes should be controlled by lawmakers. His comments came just days after he was one of only two GOP senators to vote against the party’s budget framework that is key to Trump’s tax cuts, saying it didn’t do enough to reduce the deficit. The libertarian...

A group of four Senate Republicans warned against a “full-scale” repeal of energy tax credits passed by Democrats in 2022. “While we support fiscal responsibility and prudent efforts to streamline the tax code, we caution against the full-scale repeal of current credits, which could lead to significant disruptions for the American people and weaken our position as a global energy leader,” wrote Republican Sens. Lisa Murkowski (Alaska), John Curtis (Utah), Thom Tillis (N.C.) and Jerry Moran (Kan.). Their letter, addressed to Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.), is notable since a bloc of four senators could be enough to block...

Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) said on Sunday said he’s questioning President Trump’s “endgame” in his approach to tariffs, saying the ongoing “volatility” isn’t good for businesses. “One thing I learned in the private sector is unpredictability can work pretty well in the negotiation, but the private sector — businesses want certainty. They want stability. They don’t like to see volatility,” Johnson said in an interview on NewsNation’s “The Hill Sunday.” “And, so, I’ve just been questioning exactly what’s the endgame here? What’s the strategy?” he continued. Johnson called himself an “unabashed free trader” and touted what he sees as the...

Republican lawmakers say there’s a good chance that President Trump’s trade war will boomerang on Republicans politically in 2026, as rising prices and shrinking growth could offset other accomplishments by the GOP. Republican senators are pointing to the 1932 and 1982 elections as historical examples of when trade wars and resulting price inflation hurt their party at the ballot box, and they are worried that history could repeat itself. Many Republican lawmakers view tariffs as a tax hike on American consumers, and some note that the last two times Congress enacted tax hikes on the scale of Trump’s recent tariffs,...