Sen. Rand Paul has been un-uninvited to the White House.
President Trump publicly offered Paul (R-Ky.) the chance to attend Thursday night’s congressional picnic, held on the South Lawn, after the lawmaker claimed he had been snubbed.
Paul, 62, told reporters that he attempted to retrieve his tickets Wednesday but was informed that he wasn’t invited, prompting him to accuse Trump of being “incredibly petty” over Paul’s opposition to the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
“Of course Senator Rand Paul and his beautiful wife and family are invited to the BIG White House Party tonight,” Trump clarified on Truth Social Thursday. “He’s the toughest vote in the history of the U.S. Senate, but why wouldn’t he be?”
“Besides, it gives me more time to get his Vote on the Great, Big, Beautiful Bill, one of the greatest and most important pieces of legislation ever put before our Senators & Congressmen/women. It will help to, MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN! I look forward to seeing Rand. The Party will be Great!”
Paul has been the most prominent opponent of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act in the Senate, having voted against the blueprint for it earlier this year due to his concerns about its impact on the national debt.
“I think I’m the first senator in the history of the United States to be uninvited to the White House picnic,” Paul vented to CNN’s Manu Raju Wednesday. “I just find this incredibly petty. I mean — I have been, I think, nothing but polite to the President.”
“The level of immaturity is beyond words.”
The megabill, which codifies Trump’s agenda on tax cuts, border security, energy policy, and defense, is projected to add $3 trillion to the deficit over the next 10 years, according to a Congressional Budget Office (CBO) projection.
Trump has publicly lashed out at Paul in the past for opposing the package.
“Rand Paul has very little understanding of the BBB, especially the tremendous GROWTH that is coming. He loves voting ‘NO’ on everything, he thinks it’s good politics, but it’s not. The BBB is a big WINNER!!!” Trump fumed at Paul on Truth Social last week.
The Kentucky Republican has suggested that he may be open to backing the megabill if GOP leadership strips out language to raise the debt ceiling. But that’s a nonstarter for Trump and top Republicans.
The House-passed version of the bill features a $4 trillion debt ceiling hike, while the Senate blueprint called for a $5 trillion increase. The US is expected to hit its credit limit by August or September, according to the CBO.
Trump and GOP leadership are adamant that raising the debt ceiling is a must, and see the One Big Beautiful Bill Act as the only viable way to do it without being forced to make concessions to Democrats.
Paul also charged Wednesday that White House staffers had been “running sort of a paid influencer campaign against me for two weeks on Twitter.”
“Someone has told us that the White House called them — from the White House — and offered them money to attack me online,” Paul alleged. “It’s silly in a way, but it’s also just really sad that this is what it’s come to.
“Petty vindictiveness like this, I don’t know. It makes you wonder about the quality of people you’re dealing with.”