Dr. Rand Paul’s Op-Eds

President Trump did the wise thing by moving 50 soldiers out of the way of tens of thousands of invading Turks. There can be no doubt that the situation in Northern Syria involving Turkey, the Kurds, and Syria is messy, complicated, and potentially costly. The only...

Isn't all foreign aid supposed to be quid pro quo? We give you this aid - on the expectation that you will not steal any of it for personal use, that you will spend it as we instruct, and on the understanding that if you don't spend the money as we command, you won't...

President Donald Trump campaigned on a very specific foreign policy. "America First" has its roots in the less-interventionist policies of our Founding Fathers. Then-candidate Trump said often that the Iraq War was a mistake, and that we were in too many places for...

The Middle East is a hot cauldron continually threatening to boil over.It is a mistake to funnel arms into centuries-old conflicts.There is no great certainty that the arms we send into the Middle East will not one day be used against our soldiers. In fact, there is a...

It looks like it's finally time to say goodbye to President Obama's power plant rule - and hello to energy independence.I am thrilled to join Kentuckians this week in celebrating our latest victory in our ongoing fight to end the War on Coal, with the Trump...

When I ran to be your senator, I promised to stand apart in Washington.I gave Kentucky my word to fight back against endless spending and debt, and it's a commitment I have proudly kept since my first day in office. It's meant confronting long odds and not winning the...

Saudi Arabia disregards basic human rights, slaughters innocents in Yemen, horrifically murders dissidents, puts millions on the edge of starvation and supports and strengthens our enemies.One would think it would be an easy choice to not sell our weapons to such a...

Some say that it is irresponsible NOT to raise the debt ceiling. Well, true fiscal conservatives say it's irresponsible to raise the debt ceiling without any reform of our profligate spending. To allow the debt limit to go up an infinite amount, as much as Congress...

"I believe in my religion and in Jesus Christ, who died on the cross for the sins of mankind."These are words that many Christians have said, or something similar. Even if you haven't said them, you most certainly believe in your neighbor's right to say them. But for...

The brutal murder of dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi has opened a window into the world of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and reminded us that there are many places in the world where disagreeing with your government is a death sentence.I break with the...

If you've read one of my Waste Reports, you know how much I hate when government carelessly spends your hard-earned tax dollars.With a skyrocketing debt surpassing $21 trillion, our leaders have to be more responsible with prioritizing our limited money to address our...

In September of 2014, I had these words to say: "The president acts like he's a king. He ignores the Constitution. He arrogantly says, 'If Congress will not act, then I must.'Donald J. Trump agreed with me when he said in November 2014 that President Barack Obama...

After a heated and divisive midterm campaign season, now is the perfect time to work together on an issue that has real bipartisan support: immediately stop future arms sales to Saudi Arabia. The horrendous murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi and the attempted...

It's time to rethink America's relationship with the Saudi Kingdom.It is no surprise to most Americans that we help arm, train, equip and otherwise prop up the government of Saudi Arabia. The Saudis have long bought and paid for many politicians and for an image of...

By now you've seen the headlines: An American resident, a Saudi Arabian journalist who wrote for The Washington Post, has gone missing abroad and is presumed dead. Jamal Khashoggi was last seen walking into the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, and Turkish security...

"Made in America" has meant a lot of things over the years, and it can mean different things depending on your perspective. Unfortunately, if you live in Yemen, you are the latest in a long line of places for whom that phrase means war, weapons and destruction.One of...

On my recent trip to Russia, I spent an hour with Mikhail Gorbachev. I told him that in the West we are grateful that he and President Ronald Reagan defied Cold War orthodoxy to significantly reduce our countries' nuclear arms. And I asked him whether there was a...

If you had five minutes to speak before the secretary of Defense, what would you say?At this point, I'm sure, if Gen. James Mattis is reading this, he is probably muttering to himself: "Here we go again."You see, every time I run into the secretary of Defense, I try...

Clear evidence concerning the bias of multiple, high-ranking current and former intelligence community officials should make us think twice about letting retired intelligence officials keep access to classified information, especially if they become talking heads on...

Whether or not to expand NATO is a question that deserves debate. Would it help or hurt U.S. national security?Does adding countries such as Albania and Montenegro increase our security or ensnare us in possible regional disputes? Are we willing to risk war with...