Sen. Rand Paul (R-Kentucky) makes headlines after enlisting the phrase "extrajudicial killings."
Rand Paul on Trump's strikes on boats: "I would call them extrajudicial killings. This is akin to what China does, what Iran does with drug dealers -- they summarily execute people without presenting evidence to the public. So it's wrong."
— Josh Williams Photography (@Seamonkeysammy) October 26, 2025
Rand Paul Takes to Fox News Sunday to Condemn Trump Over Shutdown Gridlock, 'Extrajudicial Killings' On Suspected Drug Boats https://t.co/VDhxa6oIOy
— Mediaite (@Mediaite) October 26, 2025
This could not be more important. Sen. Paul will undoubtedly be castigated by those who believe the U.S. can do whatever it wants without regard to laws and order of protocol, but they are badly mistaken. There must be restraints in place to prevent actions that are beyond the lawful limit from taking place. One defilement of a legal limit with respect to such actions could cause further-reaching implications and consequences than many may ever be able to conceive possible. We do not erect autonomous governments. We elect and appoint people to government positions who are themselves under the law and under some type of authority.
This is not the first time that he has made this point.
Barron's arguments for extrajudicial killing of American citizens challenges over a thousand years of jurisprudence. #StandWithRand
— Rand Paul (@RandPaul) May 21, 2014
Having the humility to operate inside the legally prescribed limitations on taking certain actions serves as doing a duty well. Exceeding what such limitations allow risks doing more harm than conceivable, and blowing back against such actions should not be considered anti-U.S. sentiment. There could also come a time when what the U.S. has loosened upon others comes back home to bear on the United States, if we are not careful.
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