U.S. Senator from Kentucky

Rand Paul

Republican · Kentucky

Ophthalmologist and libertarian-leaning Republican, elected in 2010. Son of former Rep. Ron Paul. Focus on fiscal restraint, civil liberties, and non-interventionist foreign policy.

Record

Libertarian-leaning Republican. Votes against spending increases regardless of party. Opposes foreign interventions and military aid. Filibustered surveillance reauthorization. Opposes ACA but also some military spending.

Legislative Record

Recently sponsored bills (5 on record)

S.4998 — Fourth Amendment Restoration and Protection Act of 2026 (Introduced, Jul 15, 2026)
S.4583 — Legalizing Premium Health Care Act of 2026 (Introduced, May 20, 2026)
Legalizing Premium Health Care Act of 2026 This bill allows any Medicare beneficiary to enter into a contract with an eligible professional, regardless of whether the professional is participating in Medicare, for any item or service covered by Medicare. Such beneficiaries may submit a claim for…
S.4486 — A bill to amend title 3, United States Code, to prescribe a process to authorize certain activities at the Executive Residence at the White House, and for other purposes. (Introduced, May 11, 2026)
S.J.Res.189 — A joint resolution proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States to protect United States citizenship. (Introduced, Apr 29, 2026)
S.4315 — Hemp Safety Enforcement Act (Introduced, Apr 16, 2026)

Notable votes

Voted Yea on S.Res. 817 — S. Res. 817 (Resolution Agreed to, Jul 30, 2026)
Voted Yea on S.Res. 817 — Motion to Invoke Cloture: S. Res. 817 (Cloture Motion Agreed to, Jul 29, 2026)
Voted Nay on H.R. 6644 — Motion to Invoke Cloture: Motion to Concur in the House Amendment to the Senate Amendment to H.R. 6644 with an Amendment (SA 5823) (Cloture Motion Agreed to, Jun 18, 2026)
Voted Yea on S. 2 — S. 2, As Amended (Bill Passed, Jun 5, 2026)
Voted Nay on S. 2 — Cortez Masto Amdt. No. 5463 (Amendment Rejected, Jun 5, 2026)
Voted Nay on S. 2 — Padilla Amdt. No. 5808 (Amendment Rejected, Jun 5, 2026)
Voted Nay on S. 2 — Gallego Amdt. No. 5813 (Amendment Rejected, Jun 5, 2026)
Voted Nay on S. 2 — Peters Amdt. No. 5763 (Amendment Rejected, Jun 5, 2026)

Recently cosponsored bills (12 on record)

S.5206 — A bill to repeal the joint resolution entitled "A joint resolution to promote peace and stability in the Middle East". (Introduced, Jul 30, 2026)
S.5185 — A bill to provide for auditing of the Pentagon. (Introduced, Jul 30, 2026)
S.5158 — A bill to abolish the Federal Insurance Office of the Department of the Treasury, and for other purposes. (Introduced, Jul 29, 2026)
S.4941 — Modernizing Opioid Treatment Access Act 2.0 of 2026 (Introduced, Jun 24, 2026)
S.4537 — A bill to repeal the Military Selective Service Act. (Introduced, May 14, 2026)
S.3868 — Count the Crimes to Cut Act (Introduced, Apr 27, 2026)
S.3850 — Effective Assistance of Counsel in the Digital Era Act (Introduced, Apr 27, 2026)
S.119 — No Retaining Every Gun In a System That Restricts Your Rights Act (Introduced, Apr 15, 2026)

Voting analysis

No Senate Republican votes against the party position more frequently than Rand Paul. Among senators who cast enough comparable votes to rank, he sits at the top of his conference for departures — a pattern consistent enough that it functions as a description of his method rather than a record of occasional dissent.

33.5%

Votes against the Republican majority

212

Roll calls where a party majority formed

1 of 51

Rank among Senate Republicans, most defections first

Procedure as the battleground

What distinguishes his record from a House defector's is where the disagreements land. A large share are not votes on whether a bill should become law but on whether debate should end at all. Paul votes against invoking cloture, repeatedly and on the same measures, while the rest of his conference votes to proceed. On one appropriations vehicle he opposed cloture on the underlying bill, cloture on a substitute amendment, the amendment itself, and then final passage — four separate opportunities to register the same objection.

One departure inverts the usual direction. On a budget resolution he offered his own amendment and voted for it while the Republican majority voted it down, then opposed the resolution when it passed. Defecting on your own amendment is a narrow but telling category.

The 10 most recent of 71 roll calls where Rand Paul voted against the Senate Republican majority.
Roll call	Date	Outcome	Their vote
H.R. 6644 Motion to Invoke Cloture: Motion to Concur in the House Amendment to the Senate Amendment to H.R. 6644 with an Amendment (SA 5823) On the Cloture Motion H.R. 6644 · roll call 119	Jun 18, 2026	Cloture Motion Agreed to	Nay (party: Yea)
S.Con.Res. 33 S.Con.Res. 33, As Amended On the Concurrent Resolution S.Con.Res. 33 · roll call 119	Apr 23, 2026	Concurrent Resolution Agreed to	Nay (party: Yea)
S.Con.Res. 33 Paul Amdt. No. 5378 On the Amendment S.Amdt. 5378 to S.Con.Res. 33 (No short title on file) · roll call 119	Apr 23, 2026	Amendment Rejected	Yea (party: Nay)
H.R. 6644 H.R. 6644, as amended On Passage of the Bill H.R. 6644 · roll call 119	Mar 12, 2026	Bill Passed	Nay (party: Yea)
H.R. 6644 Motion to Invoke Cloture: H.R. 6644 as amended On the Cloture Motion H.R. 6644 · roll call 119	Mar 11, 2026	Cloture Motion Agreed to	Nay (party: Yea)
H.R. 6644 Scott (SC) Amdt. No. 4308, as amended On the Amendment S.Amdt. 4308 to H.R. 6644 (No short title on file) · roll call 119	Mar 11, 2026	Amendment Agreed to	Nay (party: Yea)
H.R. 6644 Motion to Invoke Cloture Re: Amdt. No. 4308 On the Cloture Motion S.Amdt. 4308 to H.R. 6644 (No short title on file) · roll call 119	Mar 10, 2026	Cloture Motion Agreed to	Nay (party: Yea)
H.R. 7148 H.R. 7148, as Amended On Passage of the Bill H.R. 7148 · roll call 119	Jan 30, 2026	Bill Passed	Nay (party: Yea)
H.R. 6938 On Passage of the Bill H.R. 6938 · roll call 119	Jan 15, 2026	Bill Passed	Nay (party: Yea)
H.R. 6938 Motion to Invoke Cloture: H.R. 6938 On the Cloture Motion H.R. 6938 · roll call 119	Jan 15, 2026	Cloture Motion Agreed to	Nay (party: Yea)

Within the Kentucky delegation

Kentucky's two Senate seats are both held by Republicans, which makes the state delegation a small and unusually direct comparison. Paul departs from the party position at a higher rate than his colleague.

Among the 2 Republicans in the Kentucky delegation, the average rate of voting against the party majority is 21.4%. Rand Paul is above that average at 33.5%.

What he introduces

His filings run to constitutional and civil-liberties questions rather than appropriations. Recent bills include the Fourth Amendment Restoration and Protection Act, the Legalizing Premium Health Care Act, the Hemp Safety Enforcement Act, a measure prescribing how activities at the Executive Residence are authorized, and a proposed constitutional amendment concerning citizenship. Too few of his displayed bills carry a subject classification to say which area he concentrates on.

1107

Bills sponsored

1130

Bills cosponsored

Of the 5 most recent of those, 5 currently sit at Introduced.

Tenure and attendance

Paul is among the Senate's veterans and has not changed party while in office. Despite the volume of his procedural objections, he is present for the great majority of recorded votes.

First elected in 2011, now serving across 8 terms. Rand Paul falls in the veteran cohort.

3.6%

Roll calls recorded as not voting

220

Roll calls eligible to vote on

Recorded as not voting

What they legislate on

Sponsored bills carry the Congressional Research Service's own subject classification. Rand Paul's cluster into: Agriculture and Food (1), Armed Forces and National Security (1), Congress (1), Immigration (1).

By the numbers

In the 119th Congress, Rand Paul has 1107 bills sponsored, 1130 cosponsored, 8 recent floor votes recorded.

Committee assignments

Senate Committee on Foreign Relations
Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions
Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs (Chairman)
Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship
Senate Committee on Foreign Relations: Africa and Global Health Policy
Senate Committee on Foreign Relations: Europe and Regional Security Cooperation
Senate Committee on Foreign Relations: Multilateral International Development, Multilateral Institutions, and International Economic, Energy, and Environmental Policy
Senate Committee on Foreign Relations: State Department and USAID Management, International Operations, and Bilateral International Development
Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions: Education and the American Family
Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions: Primary Health and Retirement Security
Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs: Border Management, Federal Workforce, and Regulatory Affairs (Ex Officio)
Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs: Disaster Management, District of Columbia, and Census (Ex Officio)

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