In the wake of a devastating tornado that left at least 64 people dead in Kentucky, Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) asked President Joe Biden to expedite federal assistance for his state.
In a tweet on Sunday, Paul wrote, “This morning I sent a letter to asking for expeditious approval of any request for federal assistance by our Governor.”
Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) tweeted, “Glad he is finally realizing states needing federal assistance after a disaster isn’t gritty, wasteful or being ‘compassionate with someone else’s money’. We are one Nation and should always be able to count on one another regardless of your state’s Politics. This is America.”
She also shared a video of Paul criticizing federal aid during a 2017 speech on the Senate floor. He said, “People here will say they have great compassion and they want to help the people of Puerto Rico, the people of Texas, and the people of Florida but notice they have great compassion with someone else’s money.”
“You’ll find often that it’s easy to be compassionate with someone else’s money,” he added.
Other social media users pointed out Paul’s prior opposition to federal aid:
CNN’s John Avlon on Monday said, “ has a long record of opposing federal aid for disaster victims, except, apparently, for when it impacts his constituents. Suddenly, all of those reflexive attacks on ‘socialist big-government spending’ don’t seem to apply.
“It seems to be socialism for me but not for thee,” he continued. “If he was really trying to be a fiscal-conservative profile in courage, now would be the time for Rand Paul to insist that Kentuckians rely solely on local charities or reallocation of funds, rather than immediately asking President Biden for help. But of course, that would be an insult to his suffering constituents.