Sen. Rand Paul slams Speaker Johnson: 'This is abdicating the power of the purse'
Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., weighs in on Iran's unprecedented attacks on Israel, expectations that the House will soon take up a bill to back the Middle East ally and Speaker Mike Johnson's record as leader of the House GOP.
Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul accused Speaker Mike Johnson of "siding with Democrats" and "abdicating the power of the purse," Sunday, as GOP infighting resumes over FISA warrants and out-of-control spending.
Speaking to Fox News' Maria Bartiromo on Sunday, the GOP firebrand responded to questioning about the push for aid for Israel, calling on Johnson to take a bolder stance toward Democrats.
"What I would say to Speaker Johnson is 'Hold your ground. Show some cojones. Show some intestinal fortitude, for goodness sake. You've already passed aid to Israel. Tell Chuck Schumer, when he's ready to take it up, take it up, and it's going to be paid for," he told Fox News' Maria Bartiromo on Sunday as he sounded off on foreign aid for Israel.
Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., questions Samantha Power, nominee to be Administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development, at her confirmation hearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on March 23, 2021, on Capitol Hill. (Greg Nash-Pool/Getty Images)
"It's a great precedent if Speaker Johnson will stick by his guns. I have a feeling we're going to see capitulation. There's already talk of a new one that's unpaid for. Why in the world would Republicans negotiate with themselves? Tell Chuck Schumer to bring it up. It's been sitting in the Senate for two months now. If they want more aid for Israel, bring it up, but we're gonna have to cut somewhere else to pay for it."
Paul, during his segment, said he isn't so sure there's a difference between Johnson being in charge and Democrats being in charge, remarking that, "the deficit this year will be $1.5 to $2 trillion."
"That's Mike Johnson's bill. He put it forward. He supported it with a minority of Republicans [and] with a majority of Democrats. This is not using the power of the purse. This is abdicating the power of the purse," he said.
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House Speaker Mike Johnson faces an uphill battle as members of his own party, including Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, have accused him of falling short on key GOP promises. (AP/J. Scott Applewhite)
Paul's comments come as the Republican Party sits in a state of disarray, a dysfunction showcased by Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene's motion to vacate the speakership as she insists Johnson ushered through a federal funding bill that lacked Republican policy riders, particularly on the issue of border security, to avert a government shutdown.
Paul, on a similar note, called out the House Speaker for a FISA renewal push that was met with strong opposition from conservative members of the party, particularly as Johnson apparently opposed additional warrant requirements for collection of U.S. citizens' data.
"Americans shouldn't be spied on by their own government. The Fourth Amendment was put in by our Founding Fathers to protect us. FISA doesn't obey the Fourth Amendment, and so Speaker Johnson was incredibly wrong," he said.
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"He broke the tie. He voted with the Democrats. Here we have the leader of the Republicans in the House voting with the Democrats against a warrant requirement. We also have Speaker Johnson voting for the spending package once again with a majority of the Democrats," he continued.
Picking up on the note later, he added, "The speaker's got to be a speaker. He's got to be a leader of his party, not capitulator to the other party."
