Sen. Paul: Defense Cuts Should Be Considered

Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., says defense spending cuts must be on the table as part of any bipartisan deal to rein in the national debt, Politico reports.

Speaking on CNN’s “State of the Union,” Paul also brushed aside calls by other mainstream conservatives for tax increases. Instead, the freshman senator and tea-party favorite repeatedly refused to back down on his principles, and said that conservatives need to be flexible on military spending.

“There is a compromise, but the compromise is not to raise taxes,” Paul said. “The compromise is for conservatives to admit that the military budget is going to have to be cut.”

Conservatives will have to compromise, and we will have to cut military spending,” he said. “Liberals will have to compromise and will have to cut domestic welfare. The compromise is where to cut not whether to raise taxes.”

Paul demurred when asked about his plans to filibuster an increase in the $14.3 trillion national debt limit, saying “that’s yet to be determined. We haven’t yet determined what our strategy will be … The people of Kentucky elected me to shake things up; they didn’t elect me to raise the debt ceiling.”