Rand Paul's latest lonely fight incenses fellow senators
By BURGESS EVERETT and ANDREW HANNA
03/21/17
Rand Paul is at it again.
It’s not enough for the Kentucky Republican to try to tank House Speaker Paul Ryan’s Obamacare repeal bill. He’s also driving his Senate colleagues crazy by holding up the one thing the Senate could do to quickly rebuke Russian President Vladimir Putin: pass a popular treaty ratifying Montenegro’s membership in NATO.
The dispute exploded on the Senate floor this month as Paul blocked Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) from bringing up the treaty. McCain said Paul is “working for” Putin; Paul responded that McCain is “past his prime.” But the anger toward Paul goes much deeper than just McCain — nearly the entire Senate wants to pass the treaty immediately.
“It’s a minority position, yeah,” Paul conceded with a smile.
That’s an understatement.
Senators and aides said the treaty could be passed easily if Paul would release his hold, sending a swift message to Russia that the United States isn’t stepping away from Eastern Europe, even with a NATO skeptic like Donald Trump as president. While Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) is demanding a roll-call vote rather than passing the treaty with a quick request to do so unanimously, Paul is far more implacable and doesn’t want it to move forward at all.
“Montenegro doesn’t add a great deal to the national security of the United States,” Paul said in an interview. “For people who want Montenegro [in NATO], many of them want Ukraine and Georgia in there. And I think if you do that you have to be prepared to go to war with Russia.”
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