Republican senator takes aim at JD Vance: ‘What a despicable and thoughtless sentiment’

Republican Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky once again bucked his party, this time taking aim at Vice President JD Vance.

The Trump administration claimed to have successfully struck a Venezuelan drug boat on Tuesday, killing 11 traffickers identified as members of the Tren de Aragua gang. Vance and other high-profile Republicans championed the strike, calling it the “highest and best use of our military.”

‘Did he ever read To Kill a Mockingbird?’

Vance experienced pushback from the usual suspects like Brian Krassenstein, who called the strike a “war crime.” Vance promptly responded by saying, “I don’t give a s**t what you call it.”

While the left raged on about Vance’s comments, Paul joined the chorus.

RELATED: Horrific video sparks outrage after young Ukrainian woman is fatally stabbed, allegedly by repeat offender

Photo by Alex Wroblewski-Pool/Getty Images

Paul criticized the military action for not providing the Venezuelan alleged drug traffickers due process before being killed.

“JD ‘I don’t give a s**t’ Vance says killing people he accuses of a crime is the ‘highest and best use of the military,'” Paul said in a post 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??

“What a despicable and thoughtless sentiment it is to glorify killing someone without a trial.”

Paul’s criticism was met with backlash from some of his Republican colleagues who accused Paul of “defending foreign terrorist drug traffickers.”

RELATED: Jasmine Crockett’s jaw-dropping defense of criminals: ‘They literally are trying to survive’

Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

“What’s really despicable is defending foreign terrorist drug traffickers who are *directly* responsible for the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Americans in Kentucky and Ohio,” Sen. Bernie Moreno of Ohio said in a post on X. “JD understands that our first responsibility is to protect the life and liberty of American citizens.”

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!