Mitt Romney is very sad about John Bolton's firing. Rand Paul is celebrating.
Nobody can seem to agree on how former National Security Adviser John Bolton found himself out of a job Tuesday — Bolton says he resigned on his own accord, President Trump says the ouster was, in fact, his decision. Whatever the truth may be, the early reactions to Bolton's exit from two prominent Republican senators are similarly disparate.
Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) called Bolton's departure a "huge loss" for the United States, arguing that it's necessary to have someone at the table who is willing to push back. "His view was not always the same as everybody else in the room," Romney said. "That's why you wanted him there. The fact that he was a contrarian from time to time is an asset not a liability."
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Romney's GOP colleague, Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), had the opposite reaction, commending the president "for his great instincts on foreign policy."
That's no surprise given that Bolton's preference for aggressive U.S. foreign policy clashes heavily with Paul's non-interventionist mindset. The senator, who has tried to influence U.S. negotiations with Iran, is apparently so thrilled with the news that he has reportedly scheduled a media call to applaud Bolton's resignation.
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