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Public disputes concerning political parties, public officials, institutions, political conduct, and governance in the United States.
Counts show individual statements. They do not assign an overall position.
4 statements on this page. Dates: June 23, 2026 to September 24, 2026
4 matching statements. Dates: June 23, 2026 to September 24, 2026
4 published statements. Dates: June 23, 2026 to September 24, 2026
4 published statements. Dates: June 23, 2026 to September 24, 2026
4 statements on this page. Dates: June 23, 2026 to September 24, 2026
Role at the time: U.S. Senator, Kentucky
Statement summary
Rand Paul voted yea on H.Con.Res. 89, a vote to direct the removal of U.S. forces from unauthorized hostilities with Iran.
“On the Concurrent Resolution H.Con.Res. 89: A concurrent resolution directing the President, pursuant to section 5(c) of the War Powers Resolution, to remove United States Armed Forces from hostilities with Iran.”
Official Senate roll call on H.Con.Res. 89, a concurrent resolution directing the President under section 5(c) of the War Powers Resolution to remove U.S. Armed Forces from hostilities with Iran. Rejected 49-50 on September 24, 2026. Fetterman was the only Democratic nay; Republicans Collins, Murkowski, Paul and Tillis voted yea; Alsobrooks did not vote.
Archived copy (opens in a new tab)Voted to direct the removal of U.S. forces from unauthorized hostilities with Iran, a vote to end U.S. involvement absent congressional authorization.
Role at the time: United States senator from Kentucky, as reported by ABC News
Statement summary
Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky blocked fellow Republican John Kennedy's attempt to fast-track a bill requiring AI companies to be able to deploy a kill switch, on the grounds that Congress does not understand the technology well enough to regulate it. The wording here is ABC News's report of his reasoning rather than a verbatim quotation from Paul, and is recorded on that basis.
“Congress doesn't understand the technology well enough to regulate it.”
ABC News segment posted to the network's X account at 11:39 AM ET on September 17, 2026. Besides Hinton it carries several other figures relevant to this case and not yet recorded from it: Sen. John Kennedy attempting to fast-track a bill requiring AI companies to be able to deploy a kill switch, saying there is "even a 1% chance" a model could shed its nature as a tool and become an independent species; Sen. Rand Paul blocking that proposal on the grounds that Congress does not understand the technology well enough to regulate it; and an unnamed senior Trump adviser saying existing law already makes AI companies liable for harmful products. The segment also reports that Anthropic's chief executive wants coordinated industry safety standards and has said this may require an antitrust waiver, which senators of both parties have resisted. One line in the segment — "This is bat crazy insane science fiction stuff" — is spoken over Hinton's probability estimate and is not Hinton's; the speaker is not identified in the clip, so it is not attributed here.
Paul rejects it in the most direct way available to a senator, by blocking a specific safeguard from advancing, and grounds that refusal in a claim about congressional competence rather than about the risk. That places him with Huang (727), Johnson (729) and Zuckerberg (939), who reject the proposition. The closest competing label is “Mixed or conditional”, on the reading that his objection is about capability rather than principle and might be met by better-informed legislators; it loses because he acted to stop the measure rather than conditioning support on anything. Sen. Rick Scott (984) makes a similar competence argument but is classified “Mixed or conditional” because he simultaneously legislates on child safety, which Paul does not.
Role at the time: U.S. Senator for Kentucky at the statement date.
Statement summary
Paul opposes the war and calls it unsuccessful, citing militarization of Hormuz, household costs and deficits.
“I think the Iran war has not been a success. I’ve been opposed to the Iran war from the beginning.”
He spoke to reporters on Capitol Hill Wednesday, before the article’s Thursday publication. He acknowledges possible military leverage but says it has not yielded a negotiating advantage and predicts electoral backlash.
Relative to U.S. military involvement in the 2026 Iran war, Paul opposes the war and calls it unsuccessful, citing militarization of Hormuz, household costs and deficits.
Role at the time: U.S. Senator, Kentucky
Statement summary
Rand Paul voted Yea on H.Con.Res. 86, the Senate resolution directing the President to remove U.S. Armed Forces from hostilities with Iran.
“On the Concurrent Resolution H.Con.Res. 86: Directing the President, pursuant to section 5(c) of the War Powers Resolution, to remove United States Armed Forces from hostilities with Iran.”
Official Senate roll call on H.Con.Res. 86, directing the President under section 5(c) of the War Powers Resolution to remove U.S. Armed Forces from hostilities with Iran. Agreed to 50-48 on June 23, 2026 — the first Iran war powers resolution to pass both chambers. Republicans Cassidy, Collins, Murkowski and Paul voted yea; Fetterman was the only Democratic nay.
Archived copy (opens in a new tab)A yea vote supported directing the President to remove U.S. Armed Forces from hostilities with Iran, opposing continued U.S. involvement in the war without congressional authorization.
