Rand Paul
Role at the time: U.S. senator from Kentucky, questioning Secretary of State Marco Rubio at a Senate hearing
Statement summary
At a June 2 Senate hearing where Secretary of State Marco Rubio testified, Paul said it was "interesting that the three secret criteria we're using to blow up the boats doesn't include whether they have drugs on board" and that "neither is arms", adding that "a lot of people would have questions, which I still do". He also said Coast Guard statistics show that about one in four alleged drug boats stopped through interdiction have no drugs aboard.
“I think it's interesting that the three secret criteria we're using to blow up the boats doesn't include whether they have drugs on board. I would like to add that the statistics from the Coast Guard also say that when we interdict alleged drug boats in the historic way, the way we've always done it, about one in four don't have drugs. We make mistakes. We see something suspicious about the boat, we stop them, and they don't have drugs on board. I would also like to add that drugs is not a criteria for blowing up the boats, the boats that are called drug boats, but neither is arms. So in order to blow them up, we don't have to say that they're armed or have drugs. I think a lot of people would have questions, which I still do.”
PBS NewsHour video of Sen. Rand Paul questioning Secretary of State Marco Rubio at a Senate hearing on June 2, 2026. Paul begins with the boat strikes before turning to Iran sanctions.
Archived copy (opens in a new tab)Why we used this label
Measured against the campaign the September 19 strike belongs to and the government's stated basis that those aboard are narcotraffickers, Paul says the military's secret targeting criteria do not require drugs or arms aboard and that he still has questions. That challenges the characterization of the targets as drug boats instead of condemning the strikes outright.