Sen. Rand Paul‘s (R-KY) feuding with the Trump administration has sparked GOP divisions over $150 billion in border money earmarked in President Donald Trump’s “big, beautiful bill.”
Paul, a fiscal hawk who chairs the Homeland Security Committee, threatened to slash that funding in half this week ahead of the release of legislative text, a move opposed by Senate leadership and the White House.
He further sowed doubts about the need for a third of that funding — earmarked for border wall construction — noting that past estimates put the price tag closer to $6.5 billion for 1,000 miles of barrier.
The comments set off confusion and fresh questions about the president’s border priorities, prompting White House policy adviser Stephen Miller to arrive on Capitol Hill Thursday to brief Senate Republicans. But the briefing only caused greater upset, with fiscal hawks getting animated about the perception Miller was glossing over numbers.
Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI), one of the Republicans seeking greater detail on the border wall request, apparently raised his voice in the meeting, a characterization Johnson disputes, but he acknowledged a “quick misunderstanding.”
“He thought he was coming in here to explain why it cost so much,” Johnson said of Miller. “And then there’s a desire to just get the details.”
“It wasn’t making sense to us. You know, $6 billion versus $46 billion,” he added.
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The exchange marks a rare moment of friction between congressional Republicans and the White House over an issue that broadly unites the party, and afterward, senators tried to smooth over the disagreement.
Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) attributed the mishap to information not flowing outside the committees responsible for each portion of the bill. Johnson said that James Braid, Trump’s legislative affairs chief, had details to pass out at the meeting that helped mollify his concerns.
White House allies said Paul’s border wall statistics were outdated and dealt with replacing the existing wall on land already controlled by the government.
“It’s not anything insurmountable. It’s just like everything here, you know — we’re gonna all be expected to vote on this bill within the next two weeks, and we’re all basically just getting, constantly, getting more information,” Scott said.
The divisions did not end in the meeting as Paul lashed out at Budget Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham (R-SC), who is expected to outflank Paul by submitting alternative border text that more closely resembles the White House’s $150 billion request.
“Sen. Graham wants to make sure the president gets exactly what he wants,” Paul said. “He’s a rubber stamp, and I am a believer that we are acting fiscally irresponsible at every level of government, across government, and that you can’t just sort of be fiscally conservative when it’s convenient.”
Paul also laid into Miller, raising his controversial comments that the Trump administration might be able to suspend the habeas corpus rights of immigrants.
“I think somebody who would so casually talk about that really shouldn’t be in government and has no place advising people in government,” Paul said.
The flap over border security follows a separate incident with Trump himself. Paul, who is a “no” vote on the broader tax package, claimed his invitation to Thursday’s congressional picnic had been withdrawn.
Paul said he spoke with Trump on Thursday, accepting a fresh invitation to attend the picnic with his grandson, but that the substance of the bill was not a major focus.
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Paul had another conversation with Trump last week over the legislation that he described as exhausting. The two have also sparred over the administration’s tariffs.
“I think we were both worn out from last week, so we didn’t go into a lot of details this morning,” Paul said.
