Republicans Have an Anti-Israel “Squad,” Too

Senator Rand Paul, Rep. Thomas Massie go off the deep end

Senator Rand Paul, Republican of Kentucky, as seen in a handout picture from his Senate office.

The anti-Israel “squad” on the Democrats side—including Cori Bush, Jamaal Bowman, Ilhan Omar, Rashida Tlaib, Ayanna Pressley, and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez—is so well known that the first two members were defeated in 2024 primary challenges with the help of pro-Israel activists.

Yet the response to Israel’s preemptive strike against Iranian targets associated with Iran’s nuclear weapons program and ballistic missile program indicates that Republicans have a “squad” of their own.

Senator Rand Paul, Republican of Kentucky, has responded to Israel’s action with a string of social media posts worthy of Bush or Bowman.

“A war with Iran would make Iraq look like a skirmish. If your goal were to bankrupt America and destabilize the world, dragging us into another endless Middle East war would be the way to do it,” Paul posted on June 12. That ignores that we are already in a war with Iran and have been since the revolution of 1979 along with the seizure of the American embassy, the burning of American flags, the chants of “death to America,” Iran-backed violent demonstrations on American college campuses, and so on. The way to make sure the war is not “endless” is to decisively win it, not to pretend that it does not exist.

On June 13, Paul posted, “War with Iran is not in America’s interest. It would destabilize the region, cost countless lives, and drain our resources for generations. We should pursue diplomacy, not destruction. Engaging in dialogue with adversaries is not weakness; it’s the strength of a confident nation seeking peace. Our primary responsibility is to protect American lives.” America has been pursuing “diplomacy” with Iran for decades. The problem is that Iran is not genuinely interested in any deal that defers or constrains its ambitions for regional dominance and for eventual subjugation of all Jews, Christians, and Sunni Muslims to its brand of radical Khomeinei-ite Shiite Islam. The region is already destabilized by Iran. It would be further destabilized by an Iran with a nuclear weapon. If you think the current conflict costs lives and drains resources, the alternative isn’t some imaginary utopian peace with the Islamic Republic, it’s dealing with a nuclear-armed Islamic Republic.

On June 13, Paul posted, “No war with Iran. The Neocons latest plan must be opposed.” Paul doesn’t name “The Neocons.” The term has become an antisemitic dog whistle, a slur for anyone who doesn’t share the odd strain of non-isolationist “isolationism” that is really maximal U.S. support for Turkey and Qatar but zero American support for Israel. To the extent that there are “neocons,” we haven’t been hoping for “war with Iran” but for a Solidarity-in-Poland style peaceful democratic revolution that would liberate Iran and eliminate it as a strategic threat. What is a Republican senator doing spreading these nonsensical and contemptible and false scapegoating conspiracy theories?

On June 13, Paul posted, “The American people overwhelming oppose our endless wars, and they voted that way when they voted for Donald Trump in 2024. I urge President Trump to stay the course, keep putting America first, and to not join in any war between other countries.” Trump won a mandate in 2016 criticizing President Obama’s terrible Iran nuclear deal, and he won a mandate in 2024 criticizing Biden and the Democrats for undercutting Israel and for easing sanctions on Iran in a way that allowed it to fund the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack on Israel. Interpreting Trump’s electoral foreign policy mandate as “no endless wars” is misleading. It was also a mandate of “peace through strength,” of supporting Israel, and of a hard line against Iran.

Rep. Thomas Massie, Republican of Kentucky, posted on June 13, “Israel doesn’t need US taxpayers’ money for defense if it already has enough to start offensive wars. I vote not to fund this war of aggression.” The idea that Israel’s pre-emptive attack on Iran is an “offensive war” or a “war of aggression” is off-base. Iran has been funding terrorism against Israel and America for decades and is pursuing and is on the verge of obtaining nuclear weapons that would make it an even more formidable threat. For Israel to move to prevent that helps to defend Israel and America and, for that matter, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Jordan, and other regional powers, which is why they are quietly cheering it on.

President Trump was tweeting this morning for Israel and Iran to make peace. That will be possible, and desirable, even, but only after the end of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s Islamic Republic.

There’s nothing wrong with debating how actively America should be involved in Israel’s strikes against Iran. You can make a Zionist self-reliance case that it’s far better for Israel to be the lead player. You can make a patriotic American case that having America cap off the operation by going in and dropping a few giant bombs on the Iran’s Fordow underground nuclear facility with bombers that only the American Air Force, not Israel, is known to possess, would be a fine way to demonstrate American military dominance, especially after Israel already has done the hard and risky work of disabling Iran’s air-defense systems. If the cost is the issue, the U.S. can bill Iran, or Saudi Arabia, for it afterward. Or, for that matter, bill Iran’s foreign partners in the South Pars gas field. If the risk to American lives is the issue, by far the bigger risk is that of a nuclear-armed Islamic Republic of Iran.

But what Rand Paul and Thomas Massie are doing on social media goes well beyond that sort of reasonable debate. It crosses the line into demonization and double standards.

For examples of more sensible approaches from Republicans, look to the governor of Virginia, Glenn Youngkin, who posted, “Suzanne and I are praying for our ally Israel and our troops and civilian personnel overseas. Israel is defending itself against yet another existential threat and they have America’s support.” Or look to the Speaker of the House, Mike Johnson, who posted, “Praying for Israel and its people. America stands with you.”

If Democrats had political sense, they’d use Paul and Massie to embarrass the rest of the Republican Party. If the Republicans had political sense, they’d start looking for primary opponents now who can send Paul and Massie the way of Bush and Bowman—into the ranks of “former” members of Congress.