‘Despicable’: Rand Paul Spars With Vance Over Venezuelan Boat Strike

“Did he ever wonder what might happen if the accused were immediately executed without trial or representation?” Paul wrote on X.

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Sen. Rand Paul unleashed a slew of criticism over the weekend of the Trump administration’s decision to launch an airstrike on a boat they alleged was carrying drugs off the coast of Venezuela.

The libertarian-minded senator reserved particular ire for Vice President JD Vance, who has stringently defended the government’s right to use deadly force against suspected drug smugglers, saying it is “the highest and best use of our military.”

“JD ‘I don’t give a shit’ Vance says killing people he accuses of a crime is the ‘highest and best use of the military,’” Paul, who leads the Senate Homeland Security Committee wrote in a post on X. “What a despicable and thoughtless sentiment it is to glorify killing someone without a trial.”