Sen. Rand Paul Challenges Sen. McConnell to a Debate Regarding His ‘Ukraine First Policy’

Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) challenged his Republican colleague, Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY), to a debate regarding his “Ukraine first policy.”

In an opinion article in the Courier-Journal, Paul slammed McConnell for vowing to go after the “isolationist movement” in the Republican Party, specifically in terms of monetary support for Ukraine. While McConnell had announced in February that he plans to step down as Senate minority leader at the end of the current term, he has said that he has plans to remain in the U.S. Senate.

“Mitch McConnell has pledged to fight ‘GOP isolationism’ in the remainder of his career,” Paul wrote. “I doubt that his self-appointed quest will improve his support among Kentucky voters. In fact, McConnell has the lowest approval rating of any federally elected official ever!”

Paul went on to reference how a poll from Monmouth University conducted between November 3 and December 4, 2023, found that McConnell had a six percent approval rating and a 60 percent disapproval rating among Americans.

“Anytime he wants to debate his Ukraine first policy with me in Kentucky, bring it on,” Paul continued, adding that the people of Kentucky “know that McConnell is not fiscally conservative.”

During an interview on WHAS, McConnell admitted to host Terry Meiner that he was “particularly involved in actually fighting back against the isolationist movement” in the Republican Party.

While McConnell has supported sending continued monetary support to Ukraine as the war between Ukraine and Russia continues, Paul has been against financially supporting Ukraine.

U.S. President Joe Biden (R) welcomes President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky to the White House on December 21, 2022, in Washington, DC. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

“McConnell and the internationalists maintain that anyone who opposes the U.S. borrowing money to send it abroad is an ‘isolationist,'” Paul wrote. “No Mitch, that’s fiscal conservatism. No matter how noble the cause, borrowing money to ship it overseas is irresponsible.”

Paul went on to point out how, under McConnell’s leadership, he has supported the U.S. military intervening in places such as Afghanistan, Iraq, and Libya, in addition to Ukraine.

“Regarding the unprecedented amount of foreign aid for Ukraine, McConnell fails to address two significant arguments,” Paul added. “First, we are out of money, and drowning in debt. Second, we have many unmet needs here, including our own massive border crisis, that need solving before we spend one penny on someone else’s border.”