[191] Paul's office stated that the disclosure form was filled up on time, but by mistake was not submitted. [305], On cannabis legalization, Paul says the issue should be left up to the states and that "you ought to be able to pretty much do what you want to do as long as you don't hurt somebody else". [361] They reside in Bowling Green, Kentucky. Paul went on to win the straw poll for the next two years as well, leading to some considering Paul to be a front runner for the nomination, although CPAC attendees are typically considered younger and more libertarian-minded than average Republican voters. Big cities run by Democrats for decades are now supposedly 'ungovernable', HBO's sexploitation is a workers' rights travesty, WATCH: Steven Spielberg likens rise in antisemitism to 'Germany in the '30s', AOC gloats after construction of Virginia Amazon headquarters delayed as company cuts jobs, Alex Murdaugh trial: Watch the key video that could've sealed guilty murder verdict. Paul said he thought a federal bailout would send the wrong message to other cities with financial problems. [356], On August 11, 2021, Rand Paul disclosed that his wife Kelley Paul had purchased a stake in Gilead Sciences, which manufactures an antiviral drug used to treat COVID-19, on February 26, 2020. [74], On May 18, Paul won the Republican Senatorial primary by a 23% margin,[75][76] meaning he would face the Kentucky Attorney General Jack Conway, in the November 2 general election. [249], Paul has said that same-sex marriage "offends [himself] and a lot of people" on a personal level, and said there is a "crisis that allows people to think there would be some other sorts of marriage. He said that further action should not be taken without congressional authorization. [254][255], Unlike his more stridently "non-interventionist" father, Paul concedes a role for American armed forces abroad, including permanent foreign military bases. [153] On June 6, Paul spoke of introducing legislation to cease Selective Service, three days after the death of Muhammad Ali, after whom he intended to name the legislation in tribute. [5][6], Paul was baptized in the Episcopal Church[7] and identified as a practicing Christian as a teenager. What will happen to immigrants admitted through Bidens illegal parole program? [37] The group[38][39] examined Kentucky legislators' records on taxation and spending and encouraged politicians to publicly pledge to vote uniformly against tax increases. This was in response to two alleged terrorists who came to the United States through a refugee program and were receiving welfare benefits when they were arrested in 2011 in Paul's hometown of Bowling Green. This prompted some pundits to call that date the start of the 2016 Republican primaries. In 2015, he called for a defense budget of $697 billion. [183], In January 2019, Paul condemned Senator Mitt Romney for writing an editorial criticizing President Trump. [267] In June 2017, Paul tried to block Trump administration's plan to sell more weapons to Saudi Arabia. [25] In April 2020, after recovering from COVID-19, Paul began volunteering at a hospital in Bowling Green, assisting them in their response to the COVID-19 pandemic in Kentucky. Rand Paul. Randal Howard " Rand " Paul (born January 7, 1963) is an American politician and physician serving as the junior United States Senator from Kentucky since 2011, alongside Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. He is the son of former U.S. Representative Ron Paul of Texas . Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Paul questioned the Obama administration's use of drones and the stated legal justification for their potential use within the United States. [197] In the subsequent second impeachment trial of Trump, which sought to convict him on charges of incitement of insurrection, Paul questioned the constitutionality of it due to Trump having left office by the time it reached the Senate, as well as defending him against the charges, "I want Democrats to raise their hands if they have ever given a speech that says 'take back,' 'fight for your country,' who hasn't used the words fight figuratively? [17] That same year, Paul attended the 1976 Republican National Convention, where his father headed Ronald Reagan's Texas delegation. "[334], Paul has spread false claims about the safety and efficacy of vaccines. [192] This purchase was the only stock in an individual company that Paul or his wife bought in the previous 10 years. "[269] Paul said that U.S.-backed Saudi blockade of Yemen has further aggravated the humanitarian crisis in the country. #1. [359], In November 2019, Paul signed a pledge to support a constitutional amendment to limit senators to two terms. To do so, he said it cannot be the party of "fat cats, rich people and Wall Street" and that the conservative movement has never been about rich people or privilege, "we are the middle class", he said. They were married on October 20, 1990, and have three sons, William (born 1992), Duncan, and Robert. Randal Howard Paul (born January 7, 1963) is an American physician and politician serving as the junior United States senator from Kentucky since 2011. [69] Later in the campaign, Paul claimed his pledge to not take money from lobbyists and senators who had voted for the bailout was only a "primary pledge";[70] he subsequently held a fundraiser in Washington, D.C., with the same senators who had been the target of the September 23, 2009, "moneybomb". [167] Paul was one of fourteen Republican senators to vote against the proposal. Rand Paul 2024. [214], During the 2014 election, Paul launched a social media campaign titled "Hillary's Losers" which was meant to highlight many of the Democratic candidates that lost their bids for the U.S. Senate despite endorsements from Hillary Clinton. [68] The theme was a UFC "fight" between "We the People" and the "D.C. Paul's potential candidacy was discussed in the Los Angeles Times[57] and locally in the Kentucky press. William and Duncan attended the University of Kentucky, while Robert attended a private school in the Washington, D.C. [215], Paul began to assemble his campaign team, setting up campaign offices and hiring his campaign manager in the beginning of 2015, fueling speculation that he was preparing to enter the Presidential race. [216] Paul officially announced his presidential candidacy on April 7, 2015. Two days later, Paul said Republicans were united in repealing the Affordable Care Act but divided in their stances on its replacement. "[45] He also said there was no evidence the surveillance of phone metadata had stopped terrorism. [240], Paul describes himself as "100% pro life", believing that legal personhood begins at fertilization. Senators Booker and Paul Introduce Legislation Calling for Criminal Justice Reform", "Sen. Rand Paul Wants to Make it Harder for the Feds to Take Your Stuff", "Here's Rand Paul's Plan To Reform Drug Laws", "Sens. [10] Paul went to Brazoswood High School and was on the swimming team and played defensive back on the football team. [168], FiveThirtyEight, which tracks Congressional votes, found that Paul had voted with Donald Trump's positions the least out of all Republicans, only voting with him 74% of the time by August 2018. [199] He additionally condemned the attack while it occurred, calling it "violence and mob rule" and "un-American." [276], On June 12, 2017, U.S. senators reached an agreement on legislation imposing new sanctions on Russia and Iran. [64][65][66], On August 20, 2009, Paul's supporters planned a moneybomb to kick off his campaign. [372], Boucher was originally charged in Kentucky state court,[373] but was later charged in federal court, where he ultimately pleaded guilty to assaulting a member of Congress. [62], On July 28, 2009, Bunning announced that he would not run for reelection in the face of insufficient fundraising. [320] Also in 2022, he introduced the Breakthrough Therapies Act to allow Schedule I drugs such as psilocybin and MDMA to be rescheduled when they are designated as breakthrough therapies by the Food and Drug Administration. "[331][332] In 2018, Paul called for an investigation of a National Science Foundation grant that went towards educating meteorologists about the science of climate change. "U.S. GET THE INSIDE SCOOP FIRST WITH WASHINGTON SECRETS. Clinton was also a candidate for President and eventually won the Democratic Party's nomination, going on to lose to Donald Trump in the general election. area. President Trump opposed the bill, pointing out that relations with Russia were already "at an all-time and dangerous low". [261], Referring to ISIS, Paul stated: "I personally believe that this group would not be in Iraq and would not be as powerful had we not been supplying their allies in the war [against Syrian Bashar al-Assad's government]. [324][325] Paul has called Edward Snowden a "whistleblower" and called for Director of National Intelligence James Clapper to resign for "lying" about the phone metadata program that Snowden exposed. [105] Later that month, Paul blocked legislation that would strengthen safety rules for oil and gas pipelines, because, he stated, the bill was not strong enough. There was really nothing involved. Paul did not file the required paperwork with the Kentucky Secretary of State's office for the NBO's renewal to operate in 2000. [260] In 2011, shortly after being elected, Paul proposed a budget which specified $542 billion in defense spending. [321], As a critic of warrantless surveillance of Americans, Paul says "the Fourth Amendment is equally as important as the Second Amendment" and has called for conservatives to more strongly defend Fourth Amendment rights. At the beginning of 2009, there was movement by political supporters of his father to draft Paul in a bid to replace beleaguered Republican Kentucky senator Jim Bunning. In May 2019, Paul opposed the decision of the Senate Intelligence committee, chaired by Republican Senator Richard Burr, to subpoena Donald Trump Jr., a close friend of Paul's, to testify in front of Congress about his involvement with Russians during the 2016 presidential campaign. [352] In August 2021, Paul was suspended from YouTube for a week under the company's misinformation policy after he published a video which falsely claims that masks are not effective. [106] In October, Paul blocked a bill that would provide $36million in benefits for elderly and disabled refugees, saying that he was concerned that it could be used to aid domestic terrorists. [82] Paul stated that he favored 9 out of 10 titles of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, but that had he been a senator during the 1960s, he would have raised some questions on the constitutionality of Title II of the Act.