Dr. Rand Paul’s Op-Eds

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...

We know that in the early 2000s, Gina Haspel's CIA was rendering accused terrorists to unfathomable torture in Syria, as well as Egypt and Jordan. And we know that in 2005, Haspel herself was busy ordering the destruction of evidence of her involvement in the...

In the near future, Congress will debate a new Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF). I use the word "debate" lightly. So far, no hearings have been scheduled, and no testimony is likely to be heard unless something changes. That's a shame, because this is a...

Once upon a time, there were fiscally conservative Republicans. It is said that when Republicans are out of power, they are the conservative party, but when Republicans are in the majority, there is no conservative party. Virtually every Republican you meet travels...

Despite overwhelming support from the American people for action, and a grassroots push that has led to multiple victories in the U.S. House of Representatives, the Senate has so far failed to follow the lead of our colleagues across the Capitol to Audit the Fed.So...

Over the past several days, there has been an increasingly granular debate about the degree of Gina Haspel's participation in the torturing of detainees at the CIA's Thailand "black site," with neocons going out of their way to try to defend the president's choice to...

Since President Trump took office, our country finally seems to be heading in the right direction. In just the past year, the American people have seen enormous tax cuts, more judges appointed who take the Constitution seriously, relief from the massive regulatory...

The neocons have been so completely and regularly wrong for decades now that it's almost unimaginable to believe they would ever be in a position to advise a president again - let alone to wield the kind of power they will have if they lead some of our nation's most...

How many times have you been told that fighting for a cause you hold dear won't make any difference in Washington? That politicians will do what they want, and we'll just have to keep dealing with it?As someone who believes the Constitution matters, and liberty isn't...

Intelligence agency leaders are waging an all-out public relations campaign in support of their favored surveillance authority, Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), which expires at the end of this year. But at the same time they demand...

What will happen now that the Obamacare repeal has failed? The same thing that was already happening: Premiums will skyrocket. Insurers will exit, leaving monopolies or vacuums, and Americans will have less choice.How did the GOP lose its nerve and run away from...

What if I told you that much of what was attempted through ObamaCare could actually happen if the government could go the opposite direction and get more out of the way in the area of health insurance? If you have insurance through a large employer, say, Toyota or...

The Trump administration is increasing the number of troops in Afghanistan and, by doing so, keeping us involved even longer in a 16-year-old war that has long since gone past its time. The mission in Afghanistan has lost its purpose, and I think it is a terrible idea...

"Innocent until proven guilty" is the bedrock of American jurisprudence. Civil asset forfeiture, a legal process in which the government confiscates your property without a guilty verdict, turns that justice on its head.Take the case of the Motel Caswell in Tewksbury,...

This week, Congress will vote on providing needed emergency money for Hurricane Harvey, which impacted so many people across Texas. I sympathize with everyone impacted, including many members of my own family (my parents and siblings live outside Houston). I...

President Trump will today legalize and allow individuals to form Health Associations and purchase insurance across state lines. This is what real free market replacement looks like. Millions of Americans will be eligible to band together to demand less-expensive...

As Congress takes up the 2018 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), I will insist it vote on my amendment to sunset the 2001 and 2002 Authorizations for the Use of Military Force.Why?Because these authorizations to use military force are inappropriately being...

Recently, the majority of Republicans and Democrats voted for a typical, all-you-can-eat buffet of Washington spending, including $15 billion in new spending added to our projected annual deficit of $500 billion. Only ten Republicans voted to offset the new spending...