Rand Paul: Obama should be able to figure out if police need bayonets
Rand Paul: Obama should be able to decide if police need bayonets

On Tuesday, the Senate's Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs attacked federal projects, like the Pentagon's 1033 program, which arm local police with military-grade weapons and equipment. Particularly vehement were comments from Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), who spoke at length in opposition to the militarization of police. The Obama administration representatives being grilled did not share Paul's fervor:
RAND PAUL: Mr. Estevez, in the NPR investigation of 1033 program they list that 12,000 bayonets have been given out. What purpose are bayonets being given out for?
HON. ALAN ESTEVEZ: Senator, bayonets are available under the program. I can't answer what a local police force would need a bayonet for.
PAUL: I can give you an answer: None. So, what's President Obama's administration's position on handing out bayonets to the police force? It's on your list. You guys create the list. Are you going to take it off the list or are we going to keep doing it?
ESTEVEZ: We're going to look at what we're providing under the administration's review of all these programs.
PAUL: So it's unclear at this point whether President Obama approves of 12,000 bayonets being given out? I would think you could make that decision last week.
Later in the exchange, Estevez acknowledged that, in addition to combating terrorism, the military equipment given to local police is to be used for enforcement of drug war policies. Watch the full video below --Bonnie Kristian
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Bonnie Kristian was a deputy editor and acting editor-in-chief of TheWeek.com. She is a columnist at Christianity Today and author of Untrustworthy: The Knowledge Crisis Breaking Our Brains, Polluting Our Politics, and Corrupting Christian Community (forthcoming 2022) and A Flexible Faith: Rethinking What It Means to Follow Jesus Today (2018). Her writing has also appeared at Time Magazine, CNN, USA Today, Newsweek, the Los Angeles Times, and The American Conservative, among other outlets.
-
Rep. Sylvester Turner dies, weeks after joining House
Speed Read The former Houston mayor and longtime state legislator left behind a final message for Trump: 'Don't mess with Medicaid'
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Trump pauses Ukraine intelligence sharing
Speed Read The decision is intended to pressure Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy into peace negotiations with Vladimir Putin
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Supreme Court rules against Trump on aid freeze
Speed Read The court rejected the president's request to freeze nearly $2 billion in payments for foreign humanitarian work
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Rep. Sylvester Turner dies, weeks after joining House
Speed Read The former Houston mayor and longtime state legislator left behind a final message for Trump: 'Don't mess with Medicaid'
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Trump pauses Ukraine intelligence sharing
Speed Read The decision is intended to pressure Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy into peace negotiations with Vladimir Putin
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Supreme Court rules against Trump on aid freeze
Speed Read The court rejected the president's request to freeze nearly $2 billion in payments for foreign humanitarian work
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Trump touts early wins in partisan speech to Congress
Speed Read The president said he is 'just getting started' with his sweeping changes to immigration, the economy and foreign policy
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Trudeau blasts Trump's 'very dumb' trade war
Speed Read Retaliatory measures have been announced by America's largest trading partners following Trump's tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Trump pauses military aid to Ukraine after public spat
Speed Read Trump and J.D. Vance berated Volodymyr Zelenskyy for what they saw as insufficient gratitude
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Trump's Mexico and Canada tariffs begin, roiling markets
Speed Read Stocks plunged after Trump affirmed that the tariffs would take effect, sparking a likely trade war
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Judge tells White House to stop ordering mass firings
speed read The ruling is a complication in the Trump administration's plans to slash the federal workforce
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published