OLDHAM COUNTY, Ky. — Senator Rand Paul defended his decision to vote against President Donald Trump's emergency border wall declaration Friday, saying his oath is to the Constitution and not any individual president.
Since announcing that he would vote against the border wall order, Kentucky's junior senator has been called a lot of things online. He made light of the disagreement while sticking to his reasons to treat the decision the way he treated similar orders by President Barack Obama.
"I get along fine with the President," Paul said. “I've played golf with him many times. He called me three days ago, he's not really happy with me right now.
“My oath of office is not to just give the President everything he wants," Paul said.
The Bowling Green Republican stood near a novelty check for $4.2 million dollars, the amount he says his office has returned to the US Treasury by not overspending their budget on unneeded items through the years.
While he did not cite specific criticisms of this most recent stance, Paul likened this stand to those members of his party taking heat over efforts to solve Kentucky's pension crisis.
"It's sort of like the teacher's pension," Paul said. "Everybody says, ‘Oh Republicans don't like the teachers’. No! They're trying to save the teachers' pension but it requires some reforms. If we do nothing there'll be no teachers' pension. It's the same way with social security.”
Paul insists that his backers, including leaders of the TEA Party have been standing behind him, in public and on social media.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said earlier this week that he thought there was enough Senate votes to deny the President's order, but said it will be upheld by the house.