1 month ago
44
The pursuing is the transcript of an interrogation with Sen. Rand Paul, Republican of Kentucky, that aired connected "Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan" connected March 23, 2025.
MARGARET BRENNAN: And we crook present to Kentucky Republican Senator Rand Paul. He is the seat of the Homeland Security Committee, and helium joins america this greeting from Bowling Green, Kentucky. Good greeting to you, Senator.
SEN. RAND PAUL: Good morning. Thanks for having me.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Sure, due to the fact that of your relation successful Homeland Security, I privation to travel up wherever we near disconnected with National Security Adviser Waltz. There are ineligible questions astir utilizing these authorities to nonstop retired detainees without giving them a time successful court. But there's besides conscionable questions of however it's being handled successful respect to these individuals who were rejected by El Salvador, 1 for gender, 1 due to the fact that they weren't Venezuelan astatine all. Do these concern- does immoderate of this interest you? Along with claims from their household members that galore of these radical weren't pack members?
SEN. PAUL: There are immoderate large ineligible questions here. On the 1 hand, the Bill of Rights applies to everyone, to persons. The Bill of Rights doesn't specifically designate citizens. It's truly anyone successful the United States the Bill of Rights applies to. On the different hand, the Alien and Enemies Act simply says, you truly don't get overmuch process. The president tin simply state that you are someway a occupation for overseas argumentation and opposed to our overseas policy, and you tin beryllium deported. So really, ultimately, this goes to the court, and past the tribunal is going to person to decide, are they going to state unconstitutional a instrumentality that's been astir for a mates 100 years, oregon are they going to defer to Congress? If you look astatine the TikTok determination recently, which I don't hold with, but successful the TikTok decision, the tribunal fundamentally said we're going to defer to Congress. Congress says this is astir nationalist security, and who are we to question Congress--
MARGARET BRENNAN: --Right and past the president issued enforcement bid that defied the- what Congress did--
SEN. PAUL: Right, right. But my- my constituent is- is I deliberation the tribunal should person ruled connected the First Amendment with respect to TikTok and not said, oh, well, immoderate Congress wants. But if you look astatine the TikTok decision, and you had to conjecture what the Supreme Court is going to do, my conjecture is they'll uphold the Alien and Enemies Act. It's not needfully my position, but I deliberation the tribunal volition uphold it. So it's astatine slightest debatable connected some sides, who's close oregon who's incorrect here. And I deliberation it's not close for Democrats to simply say, oh, it's law chaos. There's nary limb to basal on. There really is ineligible authority. On the 1 hand, it's been astir for implicit 200 years.
MARGARET BRENNAN: But, but just- we're not talking astir partisan politics. We're talking astir the courts close now. And what the justice said helium had questions astir and talks astir this being done, you know, fundamentally successful the screen of night, this seems to beryllium an statement the medication wants to person spell to the Supreme Court. Are you comfy with bypassing what you described as, you know, what's guaranteed successful the Bill of Rights, a time successful court, oregon astatine slightest immoderate verification that immoderate of these radical really are blameworthy successful immoderate mode of what they're accused of, which is rank successful a gang?
SEN. PAUL: So we person a contradiction. We fundamentally person the Constitution that says everyone, persons successful the United States person owed process rights, person the Bill of Rights connected their side, but we besides person instrumentality that has been successful powerfulness for 200 years saying, oh, well, but for erstwhile the president wants to deport people. So these are successful conflict. There volition person to beryllium immoderate determination making. On the question of whether oregon not a territory justice tin marque a ruling for the full country, that's besides a precise large question, and I suspect, arsenic this works its mode up to the Supreme Court, erstwhile you get to the Supreme Court, I bash judge the Supreme Court is going to bounds territory judges from having nationwide rulings. So I deliberation that's besides successful the offing. But these are immense ineligible questions, and the lone mode they statesman is by a challenge.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Yeah
SEN. PAUL: If the president doesn't situation these, they ne'er person lasting and ne'er get to court. So connected the 1 hand, the president is generating this, but it's the lone mode to make a last decision from the court.
MARGARET BRENNAN: It conscionable sound- I mean- these are debates for instrumentality professors, certainly, but successful the meantime, determination are individuals who whitethorn person been sent wrongly to these facilities that are extracurricular the U.S. jurisdiction. Are you comfy arsenic the antheral with oversight, arsenic seat of the committee, with what's being done?
SEN. PAUL: I deliberation the courts volition regularisation that determination has to beryllium immoderate process. I don't deliberation you are going to beryllium capable to deport people--
MARGARET BRENNAN: So, yes, you are comfy with it?
SEN. PAUL: So no, I- well, I deliberation you're answering for me. I deliberation determination is going to beryllium immoderate process afforded by the courts for practice earlier you're deported successful astir cases. I don't cognize astir the ones nether the Alien and Enemies Act, and I'm not definite anybody knows that. And portion I emotion law law, I'm not a law lawyer.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Yeah.
SEN. PAUL: I bash deliberation it goes to the Supreme Court. And determination are arguments to beryllium made connected some sides of this question.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Got it. I privation to inquire you astir immoderate legislature business. I've seen it reported that you person pitched to Elon Musk a program to claw backmost $500 cardinal successful national backing that Congress has already approved. There was an effort backmost successful 2018 to bash thing similar this, and it failed. Do you deliberation you tin really get this done successful a rescission package, and however overmuch wealth bash you deliberation you tin get back?
SEN. PAUL: Well, this goes to different immense ineligible question. Can the president impound money, oregon does helium person to nonstop it backmost and we o.k. the cuts done rescission, and this is going each the mode to the Supreme Court also, due to the fact that I deliberation the Trump medication believes they tin conscionable not walk it. There's different question wrong the question, tin the president and his people, tin Secretary Rubio intermission the spending. On that contented I deliberation they volition win. You volition beryllium capable to intermission spending arsenic agelong arsenic you don't spell done the extremity of an appropriations year. If you get done that, I judge it's impoundment, and I deliberation the tribunal truthful acold has said it has to travel back, and little arsenic the Trump medication argues that the empowerment Act is unconstitutional. So this was headed to the Supreme Court also. It is my idiosyncratic content we should adhere to the instrumentality arsenic it is now, and that is, nonstop it backmost and person Congress corroborate it. It's a elemental bulk vote. It's called rescission. I did notation this to Elon Musk. He seemed enthusiastic. It tin beryllium done. No Democrats- you person to realize, nary Democrats volition chopped 1 penny from immoderate spending anywhere. But tin we get each the Republicans, is the existent question.
MARGARET BRENNAN: You tin get 51 Republicans, you think, to get connected committee with this?
SEN. PAUL: Well, I deliberation the president's gonna- the president is going to person to usage efficaciously his bully pulpit and his popularity to person each Republicans to bash it. It's not a fixed that Republicans volition stand, volition will ballot for this. We tried it erstwhile successful the archetypal medication it was only--
MARGARET BRENNAN: --Right, I remember--
SEN. PAUL: --15 billion, and we we lost. We mislaid 2 Republicans. But my proposition to the Trump-, my proposition to the Trump medication is travel to the Republicans who you fishy mightiness person misgivings and person them, successful advance, don't enactment it successful their lap. Bring them 500 billion. If they accidental this, 10 billion, I can't woody with, I tin woody with the 490, you're gonna person to pre negociate the rescissions package. But I deliberation you could get there.
MARGARET BRENNAN: I privation to inquire you astir the Department of Education. States, arsenic everyone I deliberation knows, supply the bulk of the backing and oversight for your section schools. But Kentucky, erstwhile we looked astatine the numbers, gets the 4th astir national acquisition backing per pupil of immoderate authorities successful this country. You person implicit 900 schools that person these Title One programs, which are debased income schools who request that national subsidy to proceed to operate. How are schools going to get that wealth if the president closes the Education Department?
SEN. PAUL: I deliberation the bigger question, if we're sending each this wealth to Kentucky and each the different states, wherefore are our scores abysmal? Why bash 2 thirds of the kids not work astatine proficiency? Why bash 2 thirds of the kids oregon much not person mathematics proficiency? So it's an utter failure–
MARGARET BRENNAN: Isn't that up to the state?
SEN. PAUL: What I'd similar to- fto maine finish, I'd permission it backmost to the States. It has ever been a position, a precise mainstream Republican position, to person power of the schools by the states, nonstop the wealth backmost to the states, oregon amended yet ne'er instrumentality it from the States. About fractional of our fund successful Kentucky goes to education, and that's the aforesaid successful a batch of states. I deliberation we tin grip it overmuch better. When I speech to teachers, they chafe astatine the nationalist mandates connected investigating they deliberation are not due for their kids. They deliberation they discarded excessively overmuch clip teaching-
MARGARET BRENNAN: --Right--
SEN. PAUL: --teaching to nationalist testing. The teachers would similar much autonomy, and I deliberation the teachers merit much autonomy.
MARGARET BRENNAN: But erstwhile we look astatine the fund successful Kentucky, the authorities receives 2 cardinal successful national acquisition funding. Do you person a warrant that the national government, national taxpayers volition inactive supply 2 cardinal successful acquisition funding? That seems important to your state.
SEN. PAUL: I'd alternatively well, no, what I'd alternatively is simply a warrant that my kids tin work and constitute and bash math. The magnitude of dollars, look, the fig of dollars has gone up exponentially, and our scores person gone the different way. So dollars are not proportional to acquisition success. What I privation is success, and I've talked a batch astir this, I deliberation determination are innovations we tin bash wherever there's much learning via immoderate of the champion teachers, and we wage them more. I would similar to person an NBA oregon NFL of teachers, the astir bonzer teachers thatch the full state if not the full world--
MARGARET BRENNAN: --Who would tally that? The acquisition department?--
SEN. PAUL: --And immoderate of them- nary what you'd find is they'd beryllium selected retired authorities by authorities crossed the nation. Look, radical say, oh, without the section education, we'd person nary testing. I was- I was successful schoolhouse earlier then, we did accomplishment tests successful the sixth grade, the 5th grade, the eighth grade, and we compared ourselves crossed authorities lines. There were planetary testing.
MARGARET BRENNAN: --Yeah--
SEN. PAUL: --You don't request the Department of Education for immoderate of that. But what I tin archer you is--
MARGARET BRENNAN: --Okay--
SEN. PAUL: --the champion teacher successful the satellite is not teaching the kids. What we request to bash is person the champion teachers and wage them more, but they wouldn't thatch 30 kids. They mightiness thatch 10 cardinal kids astatine a time, due to the fact that it would beryllium presented to the net with section teachers reinforcing the lessons.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Well, I'm definite we'll beryllium talking much astir this. Senator Paul, convey you for your clip today. We'll beryllium close back.
- In:
- Politics
English (US) ·