KENTUCKY — Lawmakers in Congress are back in our nation’s capital after a short recess in April and now the race is on to get the budget blueprint translated into law.

The self-imposed Memorial Day deadline means that Republican lawmakers will spend their time keeping busy with committee markups on the sweeping budget bill that will include sweeping provisions on energy, tax and the border.

U.S. Senator Rand Paul, R-Ky., joins this week’s “In Focus Kentucky,” for a wide ranging and extensive interview.

During this segment, Sen. Paul comments on several topics including the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown, the latest on the Russia-Ukraine war and if he was surprised by fellow Kentuckian, Sen. Mitch McConnell’s retirement announcement earlier this year and his thoughts on the competitive primary in 2026, to replace Kentucky’s senior senator. 

“I thought that he was considering retirement, and he’s made his decision now, and you know, we wish him well in retirement. And you know there’ll be a big, very competitive race on the Republican side. My plan is to watch carefully. I haven’t decided. I’m not probably going to endorse, but I haven’t even decided who I’m going to vote for yet. So I’m going to watch what each of the candidates have to say and learn more about the candidates, what they have to say on international issues, the question you asked me on Ukraine, I want to see all the candidates be asked that question and see how they respond. I don’t think we have enough money to keep sending money to Ukraine, and so we’ll see. The debt is a big deal to me. $2 trillion deficit a year. I hope whoever does win the office will be somebody who is concerned with trying to balance our budget,” explained Sen. Paul.

You can watch the full In Focus Kentucky segment in the player above.