Sen. Rand Paul&#8217;s (R-KY) son, William Paul, said Wednesday he is seeking treatment after unleashing a drunken antisemitic tirade at Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY), who is not Jewish.
&#8220;Last night, I had too much to drink and said some things that don’t represent who I really am. I’m sorry and today I am seeking help for my drinking problem,&#8221; William Paul <a href="https://x.com/TastyBrew1776/status/2054658199840559352?s=20">posted on X</a>.
The scene unfolded on Tuesday evening at a Washington, D.C. bar, where Lawler was speaking with News Of The U.S. (<a href="https://www.notus.org/congress/william-paul-mike-lawler-confrontation-antisemitism">NOTUS</a>) reporter Reese Gorman.
The younger Paul interrupted to inform Lawler that if Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) loses his upcoming primary, it will be because of &#8220;your people.&#8221;
&#8220;My people?&#8221; Lawler asked.
&#8220;Yeah, you Jews,&#8221; was Paul&#8217;s response.
Lawler was taken aback: &#8220;Do you think I&#8217;m Jewish? I&#8217;m not.&#8221;
Paul apologized for the assumption, but continued making antisemitic remarks, claiming Jewish people were &#8220;anti-American&#8221; and accusing Lawler&#8217;s supposed Jewish supporters of prioritizing Israel over the United States.
The New York congressman recounted the conversation for <a href="https://nypost.com/2026/05/13/us-news/sen-rand-pauls-son-erupts-in-drunken-tirade-against-gays-and-the-jews/">The New York Post</a>, explaining that Paul had already appeared to be pretty &#8220;drunk&#8221; and was behaving in a &#8220;belligerent&#8221; manner when he first approached — and had immediately launched his tirade.
&#8220;So Rand Paul’s f*cking son is sitting next to us at the bar … And he just like chimes in on our conversation, f*cking drunk and belligerent, and then starts going off about, you know, if [Rep. Thomas] Massie [R-KY] loses [his primary], it’s because of my people,&#8221; Lawler said, adding, &#8220;I’m like, ‘What people?’ He goes, ‘Jews,’ and I’m like, ‘Do you think I’m Jewish? … I’m Irish-Italian Catholic, buddy.'&#8221;
Lawler said that Paul claimed the United States was trying to steal land from Iran in order to give it to Jewish people, at which point he said he asked the younger Paul what he was talking about.
&#8220;This war, it’s all about the gays and the Jews, and I hate them both, and I don’t care if they die,&#8221; Paul reportedly told Lawler before advising him to watch more Tucker Carlson.
Lawler said he attempted to end the conversation, saying, &#8220;Well, you just seem to hate Jews, so there’s no point arguing anymore.&#8221;
Paul then accused Lawler of putting words in his mouth and gave him the middle finger before admitting that he was &#8220;really drunk&#8221; and making a quick exit.
Paul has had previous legal troubles stemming from a 2013 assault charge that was dropped and a <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2015/04/22/politics/rand-paul-son-dui">2015 DUI</a>, to which he pleaded guilty.
When asked about the situation, Sen. Paul told NBC News reporter Frank Thorp, &#8220;I don&#8217;t have anything for you on it.&#8221;

US-POLITICS-CONGRESS

Rand Paul’s Son Rants Against ‘Gays’ And ‘Jews’ During Alcohol-Fueled Tirade

antisemitism

Congress

Politics

Rand Paul

Thomas Massie

The Senate Homeland Security Committee voted Thursday to advance the nomination of Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-OK) to lead the Department of Homeland Security.
Mullin&#8217;s nomination will now head to a full Senate vote after clearing the committee in an 8-7 vote. The vote largely followed party lines, though Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) broke with Democrats to support the nomination.
<div id="attachment_1062285" style="width: 1034px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1062285" class="wp-image-1062285 size-full" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/GettyImages-2267258753.jpg" alt="" width="1024" height="683" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/GettyImages-2267258753.jpg 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/GettyImages-2267258753-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/GettyImages-2267258753-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/GettyImages-2267258753-768x512.jpg 768w" sizes=" (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" />(Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)</div>
Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), who chairs the committee, voted against Mullin after a contentious exchange during Wednesday&#8217;s confirmation hearing, where Paul raised concerns about what he described as Mullin&#8217;s “pattern” of aggressive behavior.
Paul confronted Mullin with a compilation of video clips, including remarks about settling disputes physically, statements about “not afraid to bite” in a fight, and Mullin&#8217;s previous challenge to the Teamsters president during a congressional hearing.
The Kentucky senator also referenced a 2017 assault in which he was seriously injured by a neighbor, accusing Mullin of previously appearing to justify the attack.
“You told the media that I was a freakin’ snake and that you completely understood why I had been assaulted. I was shocked that you would justify and celebrate this violent assault that caused me so much pain, and my family so much pain.&#8221;
Paul questioned whether Mullin&#8217;s past remarks made him fit to lead an agency responsible for enforcing federal law.
&#8220;I just wonder if someone who applauds violence against their political opponents is the right person to lead an agency that has struggled to accept limits to the proper use of force,” Paul said.
&nbsp;
<div id="attachment_1062289" style="width: 1034px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1062289" class="wp-image-1062289 size-full" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/GettyImages-2267253588.jpg" alt="" width="1024" height="683" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/GettyImages-2267253588.jpg 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/GettyImages-2267253588-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/GettyImages-2267253588-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/GettyImages-2267253588-768x512.jpg 768w" sizes=" (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" />(Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)</div>
Mullin, however, didn&#8217;t apologize or walk back any of his past statements.
“Everybody in this room knows that I’m very blunt and direct to the point. And if I have something to say, I’ll say it directly to your face,” Mullin said.
Mullin denied endorsing violence and accused Paul of misrepresenting his record.
“As far as me saying that I invoke violence, I don’t think anybody should be hit by surprise,&#8221; Mullin said.  &#8220;If I do have something to say, everybody in this room knows I’ll come straight to you, I’ll say it publicly and I’ll say it privately, but I’ll never say it behind your back.”
Mullin also attempted to strike a conciliatory tone, asking Paul to move past their dispute.
“Let me earn your respect, let me earn the job,&#8221; he said. “I’m not perfect, I don’t claim to be perfect. I make mistakes just like anybody else. But mistakes, if you own them, you can learn from, and you can move ahead. And I’ll make that commitment to you,” he added.
<div class="ad-wrapper" data-narration-ignore="true" data-testid="ad-wrapper">
If confirmed, Mullin would take over an agency facing scrutiny over its handling of immigration enforcement policies.
During an interview Wednesday, President Donald Trump&#8217;s border czar, Tom Homan, said Mullin “doesn’t know the immigration game very well,” but is relying on “people with 30, 40 years of experience to guide him,” adding: “That’s the way it should be.”
</div>

Mullin To Face Senate Scrutiny Over Ability To Lead Behemoth DHS

Mullin DHS Nomination Clears Committee After Democrat Breaks Ranks

John Fetterman

Kristi Noem

Markwayne Mullin

Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) grilled his Republican colleague, Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-OK), for appearing to &#8220;justify&#8221; a violent attack he experienced in 2017 and showing a &#8220;pattern&#8221; of aggression.
The confrontation occurred on Wednesday during a Senate Homeland Security Committee hearing on Mullin&#8217;s nomination to be secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
Paul first brought up Mullin&#8217;s previous comment, in which Mullin called Paul a &#8220;freaking snake,&#8221; and for voting against his amendment to stop funding for refugee welfare programs in February. He also later played a compilation of clips that appeared to show Mullin advocating bringing back canings for men to &#8220;settle&#8221; their differences, saying he&#8217;s &#8220;not afraid to bite&#8221; during a confrontation, and previously challenging the Teamsters president to a physical fight.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Mullin responds: <a href="https://t.co/Su2BSJqqRD">pic.twitter.com/Su2BSJqqRD</a>
— Jennie Taer (@JennieSTaer) <a href="https://twitter.com/JennieSTaer/status/2034270096881865058?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 18, 2026</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
&#8220;You told the media that I was a freakin&#8217; snake and that you completely understood why I had been assaulted. I was shocked that you would justify and celebrate this violent assault that caused me so much pain, and my family so much pain. I just wonder if someone who applauds violence against their political opponents is the right person to lead an agency that has struggled to accept limits to the proper use of force,&#8221; Paul said.
&#8220;You went on to brag that you’d already told me to my face that you completely understood and approved of the assault. Well, that’s a lie. You&#8217;ve got a chance today, you can either continue to lie, or you can correct the record,&#8221; the Kentucky lawmaker added.
Paul was assaulted in 2017 by a neighbor while doing yard work. He was left seriously injured.
&#8220;Tell the world why you believe I deserve to be assaulted from behind, have six ribs broken and a damaged lung. Tell me to my face why you think I deserved it. And while you&#8217;re at it, explain to the American public why they should trust a man with anger issues to set the proper example for ICE and Border Patrol agents. Explain to the American public how a man who has no regrets about brawling in a Senate committee could set a proper example for over 250,000 men and women who work at the Department of Homeland Security.&#8221;
Mullin then took an opportunity to respond to Paul in his opening statement, but didn&#8217;t apologize or walk back any of his previous statements.
“I have to address remarks the chairman made calling me a liar. Sir &#8230; everybody in this room knows that I’m very blunt and direct to the point. And if I have something to say, I’ll say it directly to your face,” Mullin said.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Rand Paul &#8220;rolls the tapes&#8221; on Markwayne Mullin&#8217;s &#8220;pattern&#8221; of violence <a href="https://t.co/iymerPC77T">pic.twitter.com/iymerPC77T</a>
— Jennie Taer (@JennieSTaer) <a href="https://twitter.com/JennieSTaer/status/2034270802581876892?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 18, 2026</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
&#8220;Seems like you fight Republicans more than you work with us,&#8221; the Oklahoma senator said. &#8220;I did address those remarks, I did explain your gimmicks by the amendment you put forth. And as far as me saying that I invoke violence, I don’t think anybody should be hit by surprise, I don’t like that, but if I do have something to say, everybody in this room knows I&#8217;ll come straight to you, I’ll say it publicly and I’ll say it privately, but I’ll never say it behind your back. So for you to say I’m a liar, sir, that’s not accurate.&#8221;
Mullin appeared to extend an olive branch, but Paul didn&#8217;t seem satisfied without an overt apology.
&#8220;So I can set it aside, if you’re willing to set it aside. Let me earn your respect, let me earn the job. I won’t fail you, I won’t back down from a challenge, and I&#8217;ll also admit when I’m wrong,&#8221; Mullin said.
&#8220;I’m not perfect, I don’t claim to be perfect. I make mistakes just like anybody else. But mistakes, if you own them, you can learn from, and you can move ahead. And I’ll make that commitment to you,&#8221; he added.

Untitled design – 2026-03-18T092924.390

Rand Paul Confronts Mullin Over ‘Anger Issues’ After ‘Freaking Snake’ Jab

Department of Homeland Security

Some stupid people in the Senate decided to make a spectacle of themselves yesterday when they hosted Secretary of State Marco Rubio to give testimony about Venezuela before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
Secretary Rubio is very, very good at his job. And so many of these senators are not.
One of the amazing things about American politics is how many Americans believe there are true conspiracies operating at a high level in American politics. All you have to do is meet our senators and members of Congress in order to know how dumb this is.
Politics is significantly more like “Veep” than it is like “House of Cards.”
Illinois Democrat senator Tammy Duckworth — not one of the sharper tools in the drawer — had a spat with Rubio on whether war needed to be declared in order to perform strikes on drug boats in the Caribbean.
“These non-state actors, who possess state-like capabilities in terms of their weaponry, pose a grave danger to the United States,” Rubio stated. “I don’t think any American would dispute that we have cartels that pose a threat to the United States.”
“You&#8217;re saying that he (President Trump) can invoke this wartime power?” she queried, adding that the wartime power had only been invoked three times: the War of 1812, World War I, and World War II.
“I&#8217;m here to discuss foreign policy and what&#8217;s in the realm of the Department of State,” Rubio replied. “I think your question would be better directed at the Department of Justice. &#8230; You&#8217;re asking me a question about the domestic application of a law that&#8217;s best directed to the Department of Justice.”
“It’s not a complication,” she said, somehow confusing words.
“I can tell you that the United States is most certainly confronting terrorist and criminal organizations operating in our hemisphere that pose a grave danger to the United States. Anyone who believes that gangs that flood our country with fentanyl or cocaine are not threats to the United States, is not living in reality, and certainly does not reflect the opinion of most Americans,” he fired back.
Owned.
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/episode/ep-2357-new-tape-pretti-s-not-so-nonviolent-ice-protest-past?elementPosition=2&amp;row=5&amp;rowHeadline=Latest+Episodes&amp;rowType=Horizontal+Show+Episodes+Carousel"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-large wp-image-974957" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/511983dad25841c8b1ec058d75769bbe-1024x171.webp" alt="DailyWire+" width="1024" height="171" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/511983dad25841c8b1ec058d75769bbe-1024x171.webp 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/511983dad25841c8b1ec058d75769bbe-300x50.webp 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/511983dad25841c8b1ec058d75769bbe-768x128.webp 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/511983dad25841c8b1ec058d75769bbe-1536x256.webp 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/511983dad25841c8b1ec058d75769bbe-2048x341.webp 2048w" sizes=" (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></a>
Then there was Senator Chris Van Hollen, who is just a mockery. Every time you see him, you think to yourself,  “It&#8217;s not possible for him to become more of a cucumber with eyeballs.” And yet there he is, becoming more of a cucumber with eyeballs, straight from the garden.
Van Hollen suggested it was oil executives pushing the change in Venezuela, saying, “ Mr. Secretary, simple yes or no question: Were you with President Trump during any of those conversations he had with people with oil interests in Venezuela about the possibility of deposing Maduro?”
“That&#8217;s not a simple yes or no question, but I can answer quickly,” Rubio responded. “And that is the president always elicits opinions from all sorts of people, including, for example, Chevron has an active license in Venezuela. They operate in Venezuela. They&#8217;ve been doing so even when the sanctions were in place. So of course you would ask Chevron, “What is your opinion of Delcey Rodriguez?” “What is your opinion of their economy and of their prospects?” But the notion that somehow the president authorized this challenge at the urging of oil executives is absurd. That never happened.”
“Mr. Secretary, I&#8217;m asking whether you were with the president?” Van Hollen persisted.
“That never happened. I couldn&#8217;t be with him because it never happened,” Rubio fired back. “The oil executives were not involved whatsoever in any of the planning on this matter.”
Owned.
By the way, Senator Chris Van Hollen, if you&#8217;re going to ask a question you don&#8217;t already know the answer to, you&#8217;re doing it wrong. (That is the first rule of lawyering: Don&#8217;t ask questions for which you don&#8217;t already know the answer.)
Rubio went on to make clear that criminal organizations are endemic to the Caribbean, Central America, and South America, saying:
<blockquote>We have a real reality in our region of these trans-national criminal terrorist organizations — that in many cases possess weapons that you ascribe to a nation state, not to a gang — who pose a grave threat to the national security of the United States, but also to the stability of the region. If you walk through the region, what is the primary threat in Colombia? Transnational criminal organizations. What is the threat to Mexico? What is the threat to the Caribbean basin? 
These groups have to be confronted. They have to be confronted forcefully. What&#8217;s the threat in Haiti? The systemic collapse. And that is these criminal gangs that basically control territory and threaten the ability to even form a government there in that regard. So it&#8217;s endemic throughout the region, and it ultimately impacts the United States through mass migration, through drug trafficking and other related criminal organizations. And so we need to have a force posture that can confront that.  </blockquote>
Senator Rand Paul, on the Republican side of the aisle, targeted Rubio over the Venezuela operation, calling it unconstitutional. “If a foreign country bombed our air defense missiles, captured and removed our president and blockaded our country, would that be considered an act of war?” he asked. 
“I will acknowledge you&#8217;ve been very consistent on all these points the entire career, no matter who&#8217;s in charge. I will point to two things. The first is it&#8217;s hard for us to conceive that an operation that lasted about 4.5 hours and was a law enforcement operation to capture someone we don&#8217;t recognize as a head of state, indicted in the United States, or wanted with a $50 million bounty —” Rubio began.  
“If it only took four hours to take our president, very short, nobody dies on the other side. Nobody dies on our side. It&#8217;s perfect. Would it be an act of war?” Paul asked. 
“We just don&#8217;t believe that this operation comes anywhere close to the constitutional definition of a war,” Rubio asserted. 
“But would it be an act of war if someone did it to us? Nobody dies. Few casualties. They&#8217;re in and out. Boom. It&#8217;s a perfect military operation. Would that be an act of war? Of course, it would be an act of war. I&#8217;m probably the most anti-war person in the Senate, and I would vote to declare war if someone invaded our country and took our president. So I think we need to at least acknowledge this is a one-way argument, one-way arguments that don&#8217;t rebound, that you can&#8217;t apply to yourselves, that cannot be universally applicable, are bad arguments,” Paul contended. 
Here’s why Senator Paul’s argument is bad: Who cares whether Venezuela considers it an act of war? The question is whether, constitutionally, you require a declaration of war in order to do this thing. Is it a war for the United States to perform a law enforcement grab-and-snatch of a person we do not recognize as the legitimate, rightful leader of a country? Do we need to declare war in America?  
Who cares what Venezuelans think about it? I don&#8217;t care what Nigerians think about. I don&#8217;t care what Israelis think about it. I don’t care what anybody thinks about it. We&#8217;re Americans; the American Constitution applies.  
The question that ought to be asked is not whether we would consider it an act of war if somebody did it to us; if we did, we would then have to wait and go through the constitutional mechanisms of declaring war. That&#8217;s what the question is about. It is not whether what we just did to Venezuela is an adversarial action. Of course it&#8217;s an adversarial action. The question is, constitutionally speaking, do you have to declare war in order to do this thing? Not whether in some random Platonic universe this is considered a definitional “act of war.”
That&#8217;s the point Rubio was making: Make the case that the operation constitutes a war under the definition of war in the Constitution, as opposed to a policing action or a law enforcement action.
It&#8217;s a cheap rhetorical trick that Senator Paul used there.
Rubio was asked about Cuba and said the Trump administration would not involve itself in an active regime change in Cuba. They would, of course, love to see the regime fall.
Hawaii Senator Brian Schatz asked, “Will you make a public commitment today to rule out U.S. regime change in Cuba?”
“Regime change?” Rubio answered. “Oh, no. I think we would love to see the regime change. That doesn&#8217;t mean that we&#8217;re going to make a change, but we would love to see a change. There&#8217;s no doubt about the fact that it would be of great benefit to the United States if Cuba was no longer governed by an autocratic regime.” 
“But you know what we mean by regime change,” Schatz persisted.  “We don&#8217;t mean I wish someone else were in charge. When we talk about regime change, we&#8217;re talking about using the power of the United States, usually kinetic power, but often other kinds of coercion. I&#8217;m not even saying that that&#8217;s always not in our interests; I&#8217;m just saying, I&#8217;m not asking you whether we would prefer a different kind of government. I&#8217;m asking whether you are trying to precipitate the fall of the current regime.”
“Yeah, but that&#8217;s statutory. The Helms-Burton Act, the U.S. embargo on Cuba, is codified. It was codified in law, and it requires regime change in order for us to lift the embargo,” Rubio pointed out.
Owned.
Senator Tim Kaine, the long-forgotten vice presidential candidate for Hillary Clinton, went after Rubio because Donald Trump supposedly said Iceland and not Greenland in his Davos speech. “We&#8217;re not mad at Iceland. They haven&#8217;t cost us any money. The president just mistook the two countries for each other, correct?” Kaine said.
Rubio then gave a deathless, hilarious reply, with a wink at the recent past: “Yeah, he meant to say Greenland. But I think we&#8217;re all familiar with the presidents who have verbal stumbles. We&#8217;ve had presidents like that before, some made a lot more than this one.”
Owned.
Rubio was also asked about Iran and again pointed out that the people of Iran deserve better than the current leadership:
<blockquote>And the core problem they face, unlike the protests you saw in the past on some other topics, is that they don&#8217;t have a way to address the core complaints of the protesters, which is that their economy’s in collapse. And the reason why there&#8217;s economies and collapse is because they spend all their money and all their resources building weapons and sponsoring terrorist groups around the world, instead of reinvesting it back into their society and as a result, have taken on massive global sanctions, which has isolated their economy and their country.
And so that&#8217;s what the Iranian people are demanding, is that they stop doing that and start caring about them and get these sanctions off of them, and this regime is unwilling to do it. So the core challenges, the protests may have ebbed, but they will spark up again in the future because this regime, unless they are willing to change and or leave, has no way of addressing the legitimate and consistent complaints of the people of Iran who deserve better. </blockquote>
Has there ever been a better Secretary of State?

US-VENEZUELA-CONFLICT-POLITICS-CONGRESS-RUBIO

The Adult In The Room: Rubio Owns The Senate

Ben Shapiro

Chris Van Hollen

Donald Trump

Marco Rubio

Oil and Gas

Opinion

U.S. Senate

Venezuela

Senate Republicans—joined by one high-profile Democrat—on Wednesday <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/senate-war-powers-trump-venezuela-boat-strikes/?utm_source=chatgpt.com">blocked</a> a War Powers resolution that sought to stop President Donald Trump from continuing airstrikes on suspected drug-smuggling boats in the Caribbean. The measure failed in a 51–48 vote, with Pennsylvania Democratic Sen. John Fetterman breaking ranks to vote against it, while Republican Sens. Rand Paul of Kentucky and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska sided with Democrats.
The resolution, spearheaded by Democratic Sens. Adam Schiff of California and Tim Kaine of Virginia, would have required congressional authorization before the U.S. military could engage in hostilities with any non-state drug-trafficking organizations, including those that the Trump administration has labeled “foreign terrorist organizations.” The White House has already conducted four strikes on vessels near Venezuela since early September, and has declared the U.S. is in a “non-international armed conflict” with cartels.
<a class="c-link c-link--focus-visible" href="https://get.dailywire.com/subscribe/plus/?utm_campaign=fall40&amp;utm_content=fallsale&amp;utm_medium=website&amp;utm_source=editorial" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-stringify-link="https://get.dailywire.com/subscribe/plus/?utm_campaign=fall40&amp;utm_content=fallsale&amp;utm_medium=website&amp;utm_source=editorial" data-sk="tooltip_parent">Get 40% off new DailyWire+ annual memberships with code FALL40 at checkout!</a> 
“The Administration strongly opposes passage of S.J. Res. 83, a joint resolution that would direct the removal of United States Armed Forces from hostilities against any foreign terrorist organization or specially designated global terrorist designated on or after February 20, 2025, engaged in the promotion, trafficking, or distribution of illegal drugs, and other related activities,” the Trump administration <a href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/policy/defense/3834945/trump-cartels-us-armed-conflict-memo-congress/">stated</a> on Tuesday.
At the beginning of October, the White House <a href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/policy/defense/3834945/trump-cartels-us-armed-conflict-memo-congress/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">sent a memo</a> to Congress stating that the drug cartels were terrorist organizations and unlawful combatants. “The United States has now reached a critical point where we must use force in self-defense and defense of others against the ongoing attacks by these designated terrorist organizations,” it declared.
“As we have said many times, the President acted in line with the law of armed conflict to protect our country from those trying to bring deadly poison to our shores, and he is delivering on his promise to take on the cartels and eliminate these national security threats from murdering more Americans,” White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly commented.
GOP Senator Mike Crapo of Idaho <a href="https://www.notus.org/foreign-policy/trump-caribbean-boat-strikes-republicans-senate-democrats-vote?utm_source=chatgpt.com">said</a> the strikes were “fully compliant and fully justified.” Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) called the cartels “narco-terrorists” and praised Trump for “trying to get drugs out of this country.”
Sen. Paul argued, “Is it too much to ask to know the names of those we kill before we kill them? To know what evidence exists of their guilt?” He added: “Death is generally not the penalty for drug smuggling.”
Fetterman’s vote gave the administration the edge it needed. He has demonstrated a willingness to break with Democrats before, especially regarding the Israel-Hamas war.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Fuck Hamas. <a href="https://t.co/1j2nOcn1IO">pic.twitter.com/1j2nOcn1IO</a>
— U.S. Senator John Fetterman (@SenFettermanPA) <a href="https://twitter.com/SenFettermanPA/status/1975327523509538827?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 6, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

US-POLITICS-DEFENSE-PUERTO RICO

Fetterman Breaks Ranks As Senate Kills Bid To Stop Trump’s Caribbean Strikes

Drug Cartels

narco-terrorism

Senate

The retirement savings of millions of federal workers are being weaponized to push climate change and DEI mandates, a watchdog warned lawmakers. 
Financial asset giants BlackRock and State Street are leveraging their management over billions of dollars in federal employees’ retirement savings to push left-wing politics, according to a Monday <a href="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/Hild-Letter-to-SCHSGA-and-HCOGR-RE-TSP.pdf">letter</a> to top Republican lawmakers from Consumers’ Research obtained by The Daily Wire. The pair manages around $668 billion in federal retirement savings through the Thrift Savings Plan, the federal government’s version of a 401(k) plan. 
“Asset managers like BlackRock using Americans’ hard-earned money to unfairly and illegally push radical political agendas without consent is hardly a new problem, but their control of most of the Thrift Savings Plan takes the scandal to a new level,” Consumers’ Research executive director Will Hild told The Daily Wire. “Flagrantly violating fiduciary duty with federal employee dollars begs for congressional scrutiny and more.”
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The letter was sent to House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform Chair James Comer (R-KY) and Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Chair Rand Paul (R-KY). It requested that the lawmakers investigate the Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board (FRTIB), the agency that administers the Thrift Savings Plan program. 
The letter says that the agency “has contracted with asset managers and proxy advisors that have pursued goals to impose emissions reductions and diversity quotas on companies, rather than focus solely on financial returns as required” by federal law. 
“Examples of BlackRock’s and State Street’s harmful conduct include: (1) using proxy voting power to push companies to adopt emissions targets; (2) maintaining commitments to climate-activist organizations in pursuit of Paris Agreement goals; (3) using internal proxy-voting guidelines that require using engagement and voting to pressure companies to align with net zero; (4) using pension fund assets to advance a net-zero agenda; and (5) succumbing to activist pressure to join climate groups and change their proxy voting to support activist proposals,” Hild wrote in the letter. 
An example of political policies being pushed by BlackRock included <a href="https://www.blackrock.com/corporate/literature/publication/annual-stewardship-report-2024.pdf">voting</a> in 2024 for a shareholder proposal to require Cracker Barrel to establish and publish greenhouse gas emissions targets. It backed similar proposals for companies like Jack in the Box, Wingstop, and Denny’s. 
Hild cited previous <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20241226122512/https:/www.ssga.com/library-content/assets/pdf/global/asset-stewardship/proxy-voting-and-engagement-policy.pdf">policies</a> by State Street to generally oppose company boards that are not “composed of at least 30-percent female directors” and “at least one director from an underrepresented racial/ethnic community.”
In recent years, BlackRock has <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/blackrock-makes-major-change-after-backlash-against-woke-investing">backed away</a> from some of its more recent pushes for activist investing after widespread backlash. In April 2024, the Committee to Unleash Prosperity gave BlackRock a &#8220;B&#8221; for its voting record on &#8220;extreme&#8221; shareholder proposals, up from a &#8220;C&#8221; the previous year. The same report grades State Street as a &#8220;C.&#8221;
&#8220;BlackRock’s CEO, Larry Fink, had been one of the leading voices in support of ESG a few years ago. But last year, under pressure from groups like ours and others, he began to retreat from its ESG advocacy on proxy voting as shareholder proposals have become more extreme,&#8221; the report found.
BlackRock&#8217;s recent global voting <a href="https://www.blackrock.com/corporate/literature/publication/2025-investment-stewardship-voting-spotlight.pdf">spotlight</a> also highlighted that it voted with corporate management on 209 out of 214 votes in the Americas on climate and natural capital. &#8220;We again found that many of these proposals were over-reaching, lacked economic merit, or sought outcomes that were unlikely to promote long-term financial value,&#8221; the report said.
The letter also states that the Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board relies on the Institutional Shareholder Services, a proxy advisory firm, for analysis of BlackRock and State Street’s proxy voting record. The firm is also “committed to environmental activism and imposing quotas on company boards,” Hild wrote. 
The agency utilizes quarterly analysis from the Institutional Shareholder Services to ensure that BlackRock and State Street vote in line with their written guidelines. 
“Reliance on ISS is contrary to [federal law’s] sole-interest standard, as ISS pursues an agenda that is incompatible with shareholder value and has made commitments to incorporate ESG into its processes. Contracting with ISS also raises concerns about ISS’s role in recommending votes that would inject race- and sex-based considerations into companies’ practices, which potentially violates federal and state civil rights laws,” Hild wrote. 
Hild wants Congress to press the Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board to ensure that federal workers’ retirement savings are not being used to push politics. 
“The [FRTIB] owes the public answers, starting with whether it broke the law by allowing these notoriously woke firms to fund their ESG activism with millions of federal workers&#8217; savings. The longer that firms like BlackRock freely manage Thrift Saving Plan assets, the greater the danger to so many Americans&#8217; retirement security,” he said.

MixCollage-29-Sep-2025-11-26-AM-2253

Federal Retirement Dollars Used To Push Leftist Politics, Watchdog Warns

BlackRock

Climate Change

Diversity Equity and Inclusion (DEI)

James Comer

Wokeness

Newly-released emails suggest that Dr. Anthony Fauci went out of his way to hide information during the COVID-19 pandemic — and then lied about doing so when questioned about it by members of Congress.
Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) shared screenshots of two separate emails, both of which contained information that Fauci apparently did not want to see the light of day — in both cases, Fauci had clearly instructed the recipient to &#8220;delete&#8221; the message once it had been read. Paul also shared a copy of a letter addressed to Fauci on September 9, referencing the emails in conjunction with his prior testimony — during which he claimed several times that he had not attempted to hide or delete any relevant information regarding the pandemic from Congress — and calling for him to testify again.
&#8220;Newly released emails show Fauci directed colleagues to &#8216;delete this after you read it&#8217; — dating back to Feb. 2020,&#8221; Paul wrote. &#8220;He denied it under oath. These documents are now public, and Fauci will finally testify before Chairman Rand Paul.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
🚨BREAKING: Newly released emails show Fauci directed colleagues to “delete this after you read it”—dating back to Feb. 2020.
He denied it under oath. These documents are now public, and Fauci will finally testify before Chairman Rand Paul. <a href="https://t.co/kHrUDjfRXI">pic.twitter.com/kHrUDjfRXI</a>
— Senator Rand Paul (@SenRandPaul) <a href="https://twitter.com/SenRandPaul/status/1965766261918630136?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 10, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Paul included in the letter a list of documents that Fauci, 84, was to provide within two weeks, no later than 5 pm on September 23. In addition to emails, attachments, calls, texts, and voicemails, Paul requested all telephone numbers, messaging app usernames, and email addresses — whether government or private — that Fauci used between January 1, 2018, and January 1, 2023.
He followed the letter with additional X posts showing the emails in question.
&#8220;Freshly released emails expose another layer of the Fauci COVID Coverup. In April 2020, his staff flagged my post on NYC’s soaring death rate. Fauci’s reply? Call me &#8216;full of s**t,&#8217; spin the numbers, and order your staff to &#8216;delete this after you read it.&#8217; He knew the reckoning was eventually coming.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
The coverup began while the virus was barely on America’s radar. Just one day after the Feb. 1, 2020 Proximal Origins call, Fauci, Francis Collins, and Jeremy Farrar plotted how to “get ahead of the science and the narrative” under WHO.
Fauci ended with: “Please delete this… <a href="https://t.co/lAVuPB8mZJ">pic.twitter.com/lAVuPB8mZJ</a>
— Senator Rand Paul (@SenRandPaul) <a href="https://twitter.com/SenRandPaul/status/1965766267580580311?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 10, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
&#8220;The coverup began while the virus was barely on America’s radar,&#8221; Paul wrote on X. &#8220;Just one day after the Feb. 1, 2020 Proximal Origins call, Fauci, Francis Collins, and Jeremy Farrar plotted how to &#8216;get ahead of the science and the narrative&#8217; under WHO. Fauci ended with: &#8216;Please delete this after you read it.'&#8221;

Leading Health Officials Testify On Federal Government’s Response To Monkeypox Outbreak

‘Delete This After You Read It’: Fauci Ordered Staff To Cover Up Email Defending COVID Lockdowns

'Delete This After You Read It': Fauci Ordered Staff To Cover Up Email Defending COVID Lockdowns

Anthony Fauci

COVID-19

Francis Collins

After news broke in 2015 that an Obama administration drone strike on al Qaeda had inadvertently killed multiple Americans, the former president found himself an unlikely defender: Republican presidential candidate and senator Rand Paul, one of the most outspoken drone critics in the country.
“I do think that there is a valuable use for drones,” Paul <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/rand-paul-defends-obama-drone-strikes/">said</a> at the time, in comments that drove the news cycle. “And as much as I’m seen as an opponent of drones, I think in military and warfare, they do have some value.”
Flash forward ten years, and Paul isn’t giving the Trump administration the same courtesy. In response to a U.S. military strike that took out a Venezuelan drug-running boat operated by the terrorist organization Tren de Aragua, the libertarian senator is laying into Vice President JD Vance for his defense of the strike.
After leftist activist Brian Krassenstein said that the strike on the drug smugglers was a “war crime,” Vance <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/i-dont-give-a-s-vance-goes-viral-with-defense-of-cartel-strike?author=Amanda+Prestigiacomo&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=0&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=‘I+Don’t+Give+A+S***’%3A+Vance+Goes+Viral+With+Defense+Of+Cartel+Strike">replied</a> by saying that he didn’t “give a s***” what Krassenstein called it. The comment set off Paul, who said that the suspected terrorist drug dealers didn’t get due process and called the vice president “despicable and thoughtless.”
READ MORE: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/i-dont-give-a-s-vance-goes-viral-with-defense-of-cartel-strike?author=Amanda+Prestigiacomo&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=0&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=%E2%80%98I+Don%E2%80%99t+Give+A+S***%E2%80%99%3A+Vance+Goes+Viral+With+Defense+Of+Cartel+Strike">‘I Don’t Give A S***’: Vance Goes Viral With Defense Of Cartel Strike</a>
“JD ‘I don’t give a s***’ Vance says killing people he accuses of a crime is the ‘highest and best use of the military,’” Paul wrote on X. “Did he ever read To Kill a Mockingbird? Did he ever wonder what might happen if the accused were immediately executed without trial or representation?? What a despicable and thoughtless sentiment it is to glorify killing someone without a trial.”
The novel “To Kill a Mockingbird” centers on the story of a black man falsely accused of rape. 
Vance hasn’t been swayed by Paul’s tirade, with a source close to the vice president calling out Paul for his selective criticism when it comes to drone strikes.
“The Vice President believes in the Trump doctrine and using overwhelming force to protect core American interests and save American lives,” the source close to Vance told The Daily Wire. “That pisses off hypocrites like Rand Paul, who during his failed run for president defended Obama droning American citizens without due process, but now is sticking up for foreign terrorists thanks to his debilitating case of Trump Derangement Syndrome.”
Back in April 2015, Paul said regarding the Obama drone strikes that “you really don’t get due process or anything like that if you are in a war zone.” The Obama strikes took out two American operatives of al-Qaeda and an American and a French aid worker who were being held hostage. Obama took responsibility for the deaths, saying that it was the result of an intelligence failure.
“I tend not to want to blame the president for the loss of life here. I think he was trying to do the right thing,” Paul said regarding the strike, in the same interview in which he praised the “valuable use for drones.”
Prior to his defense of Obama, Paul made a name for himself opposing drone attacks. In 2013, he did a 13-hour filibuster in opposition to John Brennan’s nomination to be CIA director, where he attacked the Obama administration for not ruling out drone attacks on American citizens. Paul pointed to that filibuster in his response to The Daily Wire, saying that he has been the “foremost critic of drones being used on civilians, especially Americans” during his time in the Senate. 
Paul told The Daily Wire that the recent strike by the Trump administration did not meet his standards. He said that the strike was not part of a “declared war” and was conducted in opposition to Coast Guard rules. He also criticized the fact that the Trump administration has not yet identified the occupants of the boat.
“The recent drone attack on a small speedboat over 2,000 miles from our shore without identification of the occupants or the content of the boat is in no way part of a declared war and defies our longstanding Coast Guard rules of engagement which include: warnings to halt, non-lethal force to capture, and ultimately lethal force in self-defense or in cases of resistance,” he said. 
The recent strike criticized by Paul was <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/u-s-drone-strikes-cartel-drug-boat-trump-posts-video-for-world-to-see-beware">announced</a> last week by President Donald Trump, who said Tuesday that 11 narcoterrorist members of Tren de Aragua had been killed in international waters as they left Venezuela for the United States. 
“Killing cartel members who poison our fellow citizens is the highest and best use of our military,” Vance said on Saturday, in the comments that set off Paul. 
The Trump administration has taken increasingly strong action to target Tren de Aragua. 
In February, the violent gang was <a href="https://www.state.gov/designation-of-international-cartels">designated</a> as a foreign terrorist organization. The State Department said that the group “has conducted kidnappings, extorted businesses, bribed public officials, authorized its members to attack and kill U.S. law enforcement, and assassinated a Venezuelan opposition figure.”
Later, Trump <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/03/invocation-of-the-alien-enemies-act-regarding-the-invasion-of-the-united-states-by-tren-de-aragua/">invoked</a> the Alien Enemies Act to speed up the deportation process for Tren de Aragua members apprehended in the United States. The White House said that the gang had “infiltrated” the country and was conducting “irregular warfare and undertaking hostile actions” against America. Trump said that the gang was using narcotics as a weapon to weaken and destabilize the country. 
After the strike last week, taking out the drug boat, Venezuela flew two armed F-16 fighter jets over the USS Jason Dunham, an Aegis guided-missile destroyer. The Pentagon said the action was a “highly provocative move” that was “designed to interfere with our counter narco-terror operations.”

MixCollage-08-Sep-2025-03-56-PM-5518

Veep’s Allies Shoots Back At ‘Hypocrite’ Rand Paul’s Drone Criticism: ‘Trump Derangement Syndrome’

Barack Obama

Drones

Tren De Aragua

A Senate panel on Wednesday advanced a bill that seeks to prohibit members of Congress, presidents, and vice presidents from trading or holding individual stocks — although the ban would not force a full divestment for current office holders until if and they win and start another term.
Part of an effort led by Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO), the legislation passed through the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee in an 8-7 vote. Democrats joined with Hawley in supporting the <a href="https://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/26036909/s-1498-hawley-substitute-as-modified-wal25677.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">measure</a>, while the rest of the Republicans opposed it.
“Americans have watched politicians earn a fortune using information not available to the general public while the average family struggles to get by. It&#8217;s just wrong,&#8221; Hawley said. &#8220;Members of Congress should be focused on delivering results for their constituents, not returns on investments. It&#8217;s time to find out where members stand. It&#8217;s time we restore trust in Congress and ban all members from trading and holding stocks.&#8221;
Featuring a name <a href="https://nypost.com/2025/06/29/opinion/pelosis-prime-profits-prove-its-time-to-ban-congress-stock-trading/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">inspired</a> by former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and her strong performance in the stock market, the bill initially offered by Hawley sought to keep just lawmakers and their spouses from stock picking, but allow for investment in diversified mutual funds, Exchange-Traded Funds, and Treasury bonds. President Donald Trump even <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/sen-hawley-reintroduces-pelosi-act-to-curb-congressional-stock-trading-trump-signals-approval" target="_blank" rel="noopener">suggested</a> he would sign the legislation.
A change was later offered to add the president and vice president to the ban, part of what Axios <a href="https://www.axios.com/2025/07/29/white-house-lobbies-hawley-stock-trading-ban" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> to be Hawley&#8217;s bid to gain Democrat support. But with the White House raising Article II concerns, the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee ultimately approved a version that bars only current office-holders from stock trading if they get elected to another term — effectively giving Trump a pass, given he&#8217;s in his second term. Still, that was enough for the Democrats.
&#8220;The American people think ALL politicians, Democrats and Republicans, use our position to enrich ourselves,&#8221; Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) <a href="https://x.com/SenatorSlotkin/status/1950599974686691459" target="_blank" rel="noopener">declared</a> in a post on X. &#8220;Today, we sent a bill to the Senate floor that bans Members of Congress, the President, and VP from trading stocks. It’s not perfect, but it’s a good first step, and we should pass it into law.&#8221;
Business Insider <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/congressional-stock-trading-ban-clears-senate-committee-republicans-arguing-insults-2025-7" target="_blank" rel="noopener">noted</a> that even though full divestment from individual stocks would not be required immediately, it would prevent Trump, Vice President JD Vance, and lawmakers from buying stocks right way and, 90 days after enactment, disallow them from selling stocks.
Now the legislation heads to the full Senate, where the GOP has a 53-seat majority.
Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), the chairman of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, said he opposed exempting Trump because he believes &#8220;everybody should be treated fairly.&#8221; He also bemoaned how it excluded the courts and staff of office-holders.
Another Republican on the panel, Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI), <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TfalT1gSTbo" target="_blank" rel="noopener">derided</a> what he called &#8220;legislative demagoguery.&#8221; He noted that insider trading laws and financial disclosure rules already exist. In addition, Johnson warned the measure would &#8220;make it very unattractive&#8221; for people to run for office, particularly those with business experience.
There is GOP support for a congressional stock trading ban in the House. Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL) has signaled that she will <a href="https://x.com/RepLuna/status/1950317068911263752" target="_blank" rel="noopener">force</a> a vote.
&#8220;Members of Congress should be banned from trading individual stocks because their access to privileged, nonpublic information creates unavoidable conflicts of interest that erode public confidence in government,&#8221; Luna <a href="https://x.com/RepLuna/status/1950589449600929876" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> in a post on X.
&#8220;As lawmakers, we receive classified briefings, shape economic policies, and interact with industry leaders, giving us insights that can influence stock prices. Even if no laws are broken, the appearance of profiting from this access fuels distrust among Americans,&#8221; she added. &#8220;The American people do not trust the US government and banning stock trading is a step forward to building that trust.&#8221;

Sen. Josh Hawley

Senate Panel Votes To Ban Stock Trading For Lawmakers, President, And VP — But Spares Trump

Corruption

Executive

Josh Hawley

Ron Johnson

Stock Market

Mike Waltz is one step closer to becoming President Donald Trump&#8217;s U.S. ambassador to the United Nations thanks to the help of a Senate Democrat.
The Senate Foreign Relations Committee voted 12-10 on Thursday to favorably report Waltz&#8217;s nomination to the full chamber. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), ranking member of the panel, joined with all but one Republican in voting &#8220;yes.&#8221; Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) and the rest of the Democrats voted against Waltz.
In a <a href="https://x.com/AndrewDesiderio/status/1948413228628742521" target="_blank" rel="noopener">statement</a>, Shaheen said she disagrees with Waltz on some issues, &#8220;including his use of unclassified systems to coordinate sensitive documents.&#8221; However, the New Hampshire Democrat added that she views Waltz as representing a &#8220;moderating force with a distinguished record of military service and an extensive background in national security policymaking,&#8221; and she suggested the United States is &#8220;better off&#8221; with him as opposed to potential &#8220;alternatives.&#8221;
Shaheen also declared that she intends to hold Waltz &#8220;accountable&#8221; in the months and years ahead, and noted that she welcomes the Trump administration&#8217;s &#8220;commitment&#8221; to distribute $75 million of &#8220;lifesaving&#8221; foreign assistance.
Waltz, a former Florida congressman and Green Beret veteran, was ousted from his role as Trump&#8217;s national security adviser after he took responsibility for the &#8220;Signalgate&#8221; controversy earlier this year. Trump then <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/curveball-amid-rumors-that-mike-waltz-was-fired-trump-gives-him-another-top-admin-post" target="_blank" rel="noopener">picked</a> Waltz to become his envoy to the United Nations after <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-pulls-stefanik-nomination-united-nations-ambassador" target="_blank" rel="noopener">pulling</a> Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) as his nominee for the role. Stefanik is now <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/elise-stefanik-reportedly-set-to-challenge-hochul-for-new-york-governor" target="_blank" rel="noopener">expected</a> to run for governor of New York against the Democrat incumbent, Kathy Hochul.
During Waltz&#8217;s confirmation hearing, Paul confronted the nominee on the issue of war powers. Paul was the sole Republican to <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/senate-rebuffs-dem-bid-to-limit-trumps-iran-war-powers" target="_blank" rel="noopener">vote</a> with the majority of Democrats in June for a failed measure that sought to stop Trump from launching further attacks on Iran with the consent of Congress.
&#8220;I guess it just worries me that you come more from the Liz Cheney wing of the party than the Donald Trump wing of the party,&#8221; Paul <a href="https://x.com/cspan/status/1945157737844777039" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>, to which Waltz contended in his reply: &#8220;I am squarely with the president &#8230; in terms of the limits on hard power.&#8221;
Paul <a href="https://www.politico.com/live-updates/2025/07/24/congress/waltz-nomination-overcomes-rand-paul-hurdle-00474459" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reportedly</a> told colleagues on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that he was willing to vote in favor of Waltz, but without a favorable recommendation.

Miek Waltz

Trump’s UN Nominee Mike Waltz Clears Hurdle With Dem Assist

Jeanne Shaheen

Mike Waltz

Presidential nomination

U.S.

United Nations

Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) said on Monday that he planned to &#8220;reissue&#8221; a criminal referral for Dr. Anthony Fauci and send it directly to President Donald Trump&#8217;s Justice Department.
Paul made the announcement via an X post after a New York Times <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/13/us/politics/biden-pardon-autopen-trump.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&amp;referringSource=articleShare">report</a> shed light on the number of pardons and commutations — supposedly issued by former President Joe Biden — that were signed with the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/biden-admits-he-used-autopen-for-mass-criminal-pardons-says-he-didnt-review-every-case">autopen</a> at the direction of Biden&#8217;s Chief of Staff, Jeff Zients.
According to the NYT, a number of pardons — including so-called &#8220;preemptive&#8221; pardons for people like Fauci, retired General Mark Milley, and members of Biden&#8217;s family who had not actually been charged with crimes yet — were discussed at a meeting on January 19.
<blockquote>
At the Jan. 19 meeting, which took place in the Yellow Oval Room of the White House residence, Mr. Biden kept his aides until nearly 10 p.m. to talk through such decisions, according to people familiar with the matter.
The emails show that an aide to Mr. Siskel sent a draft summary of Mr. Biden’s decisions at that meeting to an assistant to Mr. Zients, copying Mr. Siskel, at 10:03 p.m. The assistant forwarded it to Mr. Reed and Mr. Zients, asking for their approval, and then sent a final version to Ms. Feldman — copying many meeting participants and aides — at 10:28 p.m.
Three minutes later, Mr. Zients hit “reply all” and wrote, “I approve the use of the autopen for the execution of all of the following pardons.”
</blockquote>
Paul, in response to the news that Fauci&#8217;s pardon had been among those that were issued by autopen on Zients&#8217; orders, declared his intention to push ahead with a criminal referral for Fauci.
&#8220;Today I will reissue my criminal referral of Anthony Fauci to Trump DOJ!&#8221; he said.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Today I will reissue my criminal referral of Anthony Fauci to Trump DOJ! <a href="https://t.co/trIhJHAOlx">https://t.co/trIhJHAOlx</a>
— Rand Paul (@RandPaul) <a href="https://twitter.com/RandPaul/status/1944763596614902143?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 14, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
&#8220;Perjury is a crime. And Fauci must be held accountable,&#8221; he added a short time later.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Perjury is a crime. And Fauci must be held accountable. <a href="https://t.co/a1IlzAm154">https://t.co/a1IlzAm154</a>
— Rand Paul (@RandPaul) <a href="https://twitter.com/RandPaul/status/1944788688463872287?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 14, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Paul has long held that Fauci intentionally <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trying-to-cover-your-a-rand-paul-charges-fauci-with-attempting-to-change-definition-of-gain-of-function-research">buried evidence</a> that the COVID-19 pandemic likely originated in a lab that specialized in gain-of-function research — and worked diligently to silence any in the scientific community who dared to dispute his repeated claim that it had developed naturally. He has also repeatedly accused Fauci of lying under oath to hide his own connections to the lab and type of research in question.

Anthony Fauci and Rand Paul

Why Rand Paul Says Biden’s Autopen Puts Fauci Back In His Crosshairs

Crime

Joe Biden

Pardon

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent testified Wednesday to a congressional committee in favor of President Donald Trump’s “Big, Beautiful Bill,” saying it would be &#8220;cataclysmic&#8221; for lawmakers to let the package die.
Bessent&#8217;s remarks came in response to a question from House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Tax Chairman Mike Kelly (R-PA).
“Let’s go to what actually is going to happen if this bill doesn’t get passed,&#8221; Kelly asked Bessent. &#8220;How is it going to affect hardworking American taxpayers?”
&#8220;It would be cataclysmic,&#8221; Bessent <a href="https://x.com/RapidResponse47/status/1932868781040136656">responded</a>. &#8220;It would be the largest tax hike in history. It would be a disaster for businesses, for working Americans, and for our status in the world.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
.<a href="https://twitter.com/SecScottBessent?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SecScottBessent</a>: If the One Big Beautiful Bill doesn&#39;t pass, &quot;it would be cataclysmic. It would be the largest tax hike in history. It would be a disaster for businesses, for working Americans, and for our status in the world.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/Aaihs72JyP">pic.twitter.com/Aaihs72JyP</a>
&mdash; Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) <a href="https://twitter.com/RapidResponse47/status/1932868781040136656?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 11, 2025</a></blockquote>
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Bessent&#8217;s warning comes as the Senate considers whether or not it will pass the bill, which passed the House by just one vote. Two House Republicans <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/gop-holdouts-sound-alarm-36t-debt-crisis-trumps-big-beautiful-bill-passes-house-vote" target="_blank" rel="noopener">voted against</a> it. <a href="https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/5341080-republicans-debate-fiscal-deficit-cuts/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Senate Republicans</a> seem divided on the bill, with  Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky notably <a href="https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/5314189-rand-paul-house-gop-budget-bill/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">expressing</a> his dissatisfaction with the bill’s debt ceiling.
Replying to Kelly, Bessent warned that if the bill does not pass, “We would see increases in taxes of thousands of dollars on working Americans. We would see business contract, and we would see a substantial increase in the unemployment rate.”
Proponents of the bill, which <a href="https://taxpolicycenter.org/features/2025-tax-cuts-tracker#:~:text=TAX%20CUTS-,Expiring%20TCJA%20Provisions,set%20to%20expire%20after%202025.&amp;text=Near%20doubling%20of%20the%20standard,State%20and%20local%20taxes%20(SALT)" target="_blank" rel="noopener">extends</a> the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, argue that killing it threatens the national economy, while opponents claim that the bill only adds trillions to the national debt while reducing healthcare and nutrition benefits.
Kelly also asked Bessent to comment about what more can be done to move the economy in the right direction.
“The combination of small business and manufacturing, along with the President’s tax agenda for no tax on tips, no tax on overtime, a tax cut for seniors, and the ability to buy a new, American-made car and deduct the interest will solve this horrendous affordability crisis,&#8221; Bessent replied.
“The way to think about it, Congressman — we are dealing with two things here: we are dealing with affordability and we are dealing with inflation,” Bessent said.
“We are working to pull [affordability] down. That can be pulled down two ways: through price levels or [increasing] real wages. I think we can do both but the real fill-up here would be [to] increase real wages for working Americans.”
Later in the hearing, Representative David Kustoff of Tennessee reiterated Kelly’s concerns about the danger of killing the bill.
Bessent agreed, saying that, “I think it could set off a financial crisis the likes of which we have not seen since ‘08, ‘09.”

Senate Finance Committee Holds Confirmation Hearing For Scott Bessent

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Scott Bessent

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