William Paul, the son of Sen. Rand Paul, drunkenly hurled antisemitic insults at Republican Rep. Mike Lawler at a Capitol Hill bar and restaurant on Tuesday evening.
In full view of this NOTUS reporter, the younger Paul — who introduced himself as the Republican senator’s son — confronted Lawler about Rep. Thomas Massie’s GOP primary election in Kentucky next week. William Paul was seated a couple of seats down from Lawler at the restaurant bar, and interrupted a conversation between NOTUS and Lawler to say that if Massie loses, it’s going to be because of “your people.”
“My people?” Lawler asked Paul.
“Yeah, you Jews,” Paul responded.
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“Do you think I’m Jewish?” Lawler asked. “I’m not.”
“Oh wow, I’m so sorry for calling you a Jew,” Paul said.
He then continued on a tirade about how Jews were “anti-American” and how Lawler and his “Jewish supporters” served Israel more than America. Lawler repeatedly pushed back and engaged with Paul, defending his support of Israel, and told Paul he was being antisemitic.
“Paul Singer serves Israeli interests, not American interests,” Paul said, referring to the GOP megadonor who is helping bankroll an anti-Massie super PAC. Singer is Jewish.
Restore Freedom PAC, a pro-Massie super PAC, has run an ad titled “LGBTQ Mafia” that had a picture of Singer with a rainbow Star of David behind him. Massie, a close ally of Sen. Paul in Kentucky’s delegation, is in a tight race against a Trump-backed primary challenger.
William Paul did not respond to multiple requests for comment but posted on X that he “had too much to drink and said some things that don’t represent who I really am.”
“I’m sorry and today I am seeking help for my drinking problem,” he wrote.
Sen. Paul’s office did not respond to requests for comment, Massie and a representative for Singer did not respond to requests for comment. Lawler declined to give an official comment on the interaction.
At the restaurant Tuesday, William Paul went on to tell Lawler he “needs to watch more Tucker Carlson.” He also said that Massie and his father, Sen. Paul, were the only lawmakers who care about the U.S.
Finally, Lawler tried to end the conversation and said, “Well, you just seem to hate Jews, so there’s no point arguing anymore.”
Paul then shoved his finger in Lawler’s face, saying, “Don’t put words in my mouth, Mike Lawler, I never said that.”
He then began to complain about Lawler’s push to raise the SALT cap in last year’s reconciliation bill. When Lawler said, “Please leave us alone,” Paul turned around and flipped off Lawler.
“Did you just give me the middle finger?” Lawler asked.
“I’m sorry, yeah, I did. I’m just really drunk. I’m going to leave,” Paul said.
He then paid his tab and started to walk away. On his way out, he knocked his barstool down and tripped over it.
In 2013, William Paul was charged with assaulting a flight attendant — those charges were later dropped — and in 2015, he pleaded guilty to driving under the influence after a car crash.
He previously worked for the conservative organization FreedomWorks and worked for multiple members of Congress up until last summer, according to Legistorm.
This story has been updated with a social media post from William Paul.
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