Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) lit into Vice President JD Vance on Saturday over what he called a “despicable and thoughtless” response to a U.S. military strike that reportedly killed 11 Venezuelans in the Caribbean.
Vance, who has rarely shied away from hawkish takes in the past, seemed to celebrate the use of military force on what the Trump administration claimed was a drug-smuggling vessel. “Killing cartel members who poison our fellow citizens is the highest and best use of our military,” Vance wrote Saturday morning on X.
Paul wasn’t having it.
“JD ‘I don’t give a s—’ Vance says killing people he accuses of a crime is the ‘highest and best use of the military,’” the Kentucky senator fired back on X.
“Did he ever read To Kill a Mockingbird? Did he ever wonder what might happen if the accused were immediately executed without trial or representation??” Paul added.
“What a despicable and thoughtless sentiment it is to glorify killing someone without a trial.”
The sharp rebuke came just days after President Trump announced that U.S. military forces carried out a “kinetic strike” against what he described as a “drug vessel” tied to Tren de Aragua, a violent Venezuelan gang designated as a foreign terrorist organization by the U.S.
“Earlier this morning, on my Orders, U.S. Military Forces conducted a kinetic strike against positively identified Tren de Aragua Narcoterrorists in the SOUTHCOM area of responsibility,” Trump said Tuesday on Truth Social. He claimed the gang is under the control of Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro and responsible for “mass murder, drug trafficking, sex trafficking, and acts of violence and terror across the United States and Western Hemisphere.”
But Paul isn’t buying into the tough-on-crime chest-thumping, and he’s raising a bigger issue—due process. His criticism of Vance puts a spotlight on a long-running tension within the GOP: between the libertarian-leaning, civil-liberties wing that Paul often represents and the more militant, hardliners like Vance.
This isn’t the first time Paul has broken ranks. He’s previously called out Republican support for endless wars, warrantless surveillance, and unchecked executive power. But his targeting of the Vice President—who’s closely aligned with Trump’s foreign policy vision—feels like a direct shot across the bow.
If nothing else, Paul’s outburst underscores a growing divide on the right over how far America should go in projecting force—especially when it comes to suspected criminals, not battlefield combatants.
While Vance’s message plays well with the MAGA crowd, Paul’s warning is clear: if the U.S. starts killing people based only on accusations, the line between justice and vengeance disappears.
