A significant rift is emerging between Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) and President Donald Trump administration over the proposed border security measures in President Donald Trump's "Big Beautiful Bill," CNN reported Thursday.
Paul, a fiscal conservative known for his deficit concerns, has expressed strong opposition to the bill's funding levels.He argues that the proposed expenditures would significantly increase the federal deficit, which is projected to rise by $3 trillion over the next decade.
Paul has also criticized the bill's lack of transparency and its approach to border security, labeling it as "anti-American."
In response to these concerns, White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller met with Senate Republicans on Thursday to address the dispute.
According to the CNN report, this meeting highlighted the divisions within the GOP, with some members, including Sens. Ron Johnson (R-Wisc.) and Roger Marshall (R-Kan.), questioning the bill's fiscal implications and the absence of detailed data supporting the proposed funding levels.
But Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) defended the administration's position, advocating for the importance of the bill's provisions for national security.
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In a Wednesday interview with CNN, Paul said, “They want to quiet me down, and it hasn’t worked, and so they’re going to try to attack me. They’re going to try to destroy me in other ways, and then do petty little things like social occasions or whatever."
He continued: "But you know, it probably will not work. It probably will not make me cow down or bend over.”
When asked if he was referring to Miller, Paul nodded in affirmation, per CNN.
Meanwhile, Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.) criticized Paul's approach, stating, "I mean, Rand Paul’s solution is cut everything in half and call it good. Yeah, that’s not real budgeting."
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But the Kentucky Republican insists that the White House needs to justify its funding requests, particularly since they were made before Trump took office.
According to the report, Paul specifically called out a GOP senator, accusing him of being a fiscal hawk only when "convenient," suggesting inconsistency in the application of fiscal principles.