Paul Emerges As A Roadblock To Homeland Security Efforts

When it comes to homeland security, Republicans, Democrats, lobbyists and even the Trump administration agree on one thing: Kentucky Republican Rand Paul is impossible to get around.

The cantankerous chair of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee has become a nearly immovable roadblock to even bipartisan proposals on everything from cybersecurity to immigration legislation, according to conversations with 11 lawmakers, lobbyists and industry experts. With just a few working weeks left in the current Congress, Paul’s refusal to move forward on so many fronts means potentially little will get done on homeland security.

And the longtime libertarian shows few signs of relenting, meaning his colleagues will have to wait until at least January to move their priorities when a new Congress convenes.

“You expect a robust back and forth on immigration, homeland security, technology, cybersecurity before you get to bipartisan agreement … until now,” said one lobbyist, who like others in this story was granted anonymity to speak freely about their interactions with Paul.

“Now you’ve got a chairman who has different views, but doesn’t actually express those views in legislation or in policy,” the lobbyist added. “He expresses those views in news stories or in hearings and then doesn’t do anything about them.”

Paul’s intransigence runs the gamut on homeland security issues, from blocking the reauthorization of a key cybersecurity law aimed to protecting critical infrastructure to slowing bipartisan disaster relief and border security legislation as he prioritizes a Covid-19 investigation.

And he was a key player in a tiff with the White House that ultimately led to the withdrawal of President Donald Trump’s pick to head Immigration and Customs Enforcement earlier in September.

Paul’s office declined to make the Kentucky Republican available for an interview. Drew Carmichael, a spokesperson for the senator, defended his boss’s record in a lengthy statement. Carmichael noted that Paul “led the way” on funding border security efforts under the first Trump administration and pointed to his panel’s confirmation record, with the chairman moving almost 40 nominees through the committee, including two DHS secretaries.

“Those who like the status quo and especially those who have been spending or receiving government money without scrutiny are rightly upset that this committee under Chairman Paul has stopped being a cheerleader for more government and has started asking tough questions and holding people accountable,” Carmichael said.

Paul’s counterparts on Capitol Hill were deferential when asked about his chairmanship, even as they expressed frustration over the halting progress on legislation.

“It’s been a challenge,” said Michigan Sen. Gary Peters, the top Democrat on the Senate Homeland Security Committee, when asked about Democrats’ efforts to move bipartisan policy through the panel.

Republican members of the committee were circumspect when asked about Paul’s leadership — but few voiced a strong vote of confidence.

Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), a previous chair of the committee, said that he “truly appreciates” the work Paul has done on investigating Covid-19-era policies. However, when asked about Paul’s work on immigration and cybersecurity, Johnson said only that “the good news is we have a president who’s secured the border.”

“He’s the chairman … he has a perspective, every chairman does, and that’s fine, he has priorities he’s going to work, and we just work things out,” said committee member James Lankford (R-Okla.) when asked the same question about Paul’s policies.

Paul’s obstinance led to the White House withdrawing the nomination of Lance Schroyer, an Oklahoma state trooper the White House tapped to lead Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The White House pulled the nomination after Paul asked for more information about the agency’s investigations into the surge of immigration enforcement in Minneapolis in January, where immigration officers shot and killed two American citizens.

On cyber policy — a pressing topic on Capitol Hill following the advent of artificial intelligence models with hacking capabilities — Paul has made few friends. The chair stalled the reauthorization of a key bipartisan law that allows the private sector to share threat data with the federal government and also slowed the reauthorization of another bipartisan law providing state and local authorities with federal cyber funds.

His panel has jurisdiction over the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency — the nation’s cyber defense agency — a group that Paul told POLITICO in 2024 he wanted to “eliminate.”

And in recent months, he has devoted considerable committee resources toward investigating a July 2024 assassination attempt against then-presidential candidate Donald Trump and public health officials’ response to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Paul’s inquiries into the pandemic response culminated with him compelling former National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Director Anthony Fauci to appear before his panel for a headline-grabbing hearing. The senator referred Fauci to the Justice Department on contempt of Congress charges after Fauci asserted his Fifth Amendment rights.

Peters is one of several members frustrated by Paul’s focus on Fauci. He argues the committee could be doing more forward-looking legislative work in the months ahead and said Paul is “revisiting questions” the committee already explored.

“This Committee has not held its annual threats hearing at all this Congress, and we have not held a budget hearing for the Department of Homeland Security,” Peters said when Fauci testified in July. “These are important hearings where we would have the opportunity to discuss how to strengthen our homeland security across the board.”

Some of Paul’s GOP colleagues defended his leadership of the committee.

“He’s focused on the priorities that he believes in, which is what every chairman gets to do,” said Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.), who serves on the Senate Homeland Security Committee. “I think he works hard for the American public.”

Paul, long a gadfly, was already one of the Republicans expected to frustrate the administration.

During Trump’s first presidency, he was one of the few Republicans to oppose border security funding. And while Paul did not vote to convict Trump during his second impeachment trial — in contrast to Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) and other senators who have provoked the president’s ire — his refusal to vote for White House funding packages and his support for some War Powers Act resolutions have nevertheless angered the president.

Paul’s rift with the administration has only grown since DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin took office. The two have had a tense relationship for years and it burst into the public eye when Paul lashed Mullin during his confirmation hearing over past disparaging comments from Mullin about an assault that left Paul seriously injured. The bad blood seems likely to hinder DHS and its Senate committee of jurisdiction going forward.

A DHS official, granted anonymity to speak freely about the relationship between DHS and Congress, insisted that the department is making progress on Capitol Hill despite the fact there’s “no love lost” between the two men.

DHS itself did not comment specifically on the relationship between the two men but did insist it remains committed to communicating with members of Congress.

“In his confirmation hearing, Secretary Mullin vowed to be accessible and communicative should he be confirmed,” the department said. "As DHS Secretary, he’s continuing this leadership style.”

And asked about the issues with cyber legislation, CISA said in a separate statement it is “ready to assist Congress in any way to ensure that these critical protections remain in place.”

The legislation, CISA said, “fuels the trust, speed, and collaboration that make us stronger together. … The Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act of 2015 remains vital to this mission and allowing it to lapse would also be a serious blow.”

Paul, however, has at times shown a willingness to play ball with both sides. He cast a key vote for the White House’s reconciliation bill.

He has also championed some of the administration’s key immigration priorities; this year he re-upped a legislative push to clamp down on birthright citizenship, aligning himself closely with the White House.

Paul also has a tense relationship with his House Republican counterpart.

New York Rep. Andrew Garbarino, the top Republican on the House Homeland Security Committee, has been careful in publicly discussing his working relationship with Paul. However, at a forum in June, Garbarino complained about Senate rules holding up the reauthorization of key cyber bills. Paul has long blocked the reauthorization of the CISA 2015 bill until it includes language banning the unrelated Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency from carrying out anti-disinformation work.

“One person over there can stop things from moving forward,” Garbarino said. “They might say, ‘I’m going to hold that up until I get my way on something else,’ which we are actively seeing right now when it comes to certain cyber legislation.”

Garbarino’s office did not respond to a request for comment about the two Republicans' current relationship.

While Paul may not remain as the top Republican on the Homeland Security Committee — the former ophthalmologist may take that spot atop the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee when Cassidy, the current chair, retires from the Senate later this year — several key homeland security priorities face year-end deadlines.

And even some in Paul’s own party acknowledge the challenges.

“Oh, gosh,” Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) said as he thought through what to say. “I think we've been able to get some good things. Our committee, it's had its ups and downs.”

Simon Levien contributed to this report.