Senator Rand Paul expressed frustration on Wednesday after learning he had been uninvited from the White House’s annual picnic, a move he believes was retaliation for his opposition to President Trump’s tax cut and spending bill. Paul, a vocal critic of the bill’s debt ceiling provisions and projected impact on the national deficit, said he had planned to attend the event on Thursday with his wife, son, daughter-in-law, and 6-month-old grandson before being informed that he was no longer welcome.
Speaking to reporters, Paul said he believed this was the first time a sitting senator had ever been barred from attending a White House picnic. “The White House is owned by the taxpayers we’re all members of it,” he said. “Every Democrat will be invited, every Republican will be invited, but I will be the only one disallowed to come on the grounds of the White House.”
He called the move “incredibly petty” and added that, despite disagreeing with Trump on policy, he had always treated the president respectfully. “I’ve been nothing but polite. I’ve been an intellectual and public policy opponent, but now the president has chosen to uninvite me and my grandson from a public event.”
Paul didn’t hold back in criticizing the decision, describing it as “immaturity beyond words.” He said his opposition to the bill comes from a genuine concern about the nation’s fiscal health. “I’m arguing out of principle and fear for our country’s debt crisis, and their reaction is to disinvite my grandson from a public gathering,” he said. “It really makes me lose a lot of respect I once had for Donald Trump.”
The senator noted he wasn’t given a reason for the disinvitation and doesn’t know who in the administration made the call. The White House has not yet commented on the matter.