Rand Paul said in a radio interview on Friday that House Speaker Paul Ryan is not a conservative and added that Florida Sen. Marco Rubio should resign from office or return his Senate paycheck for missing the vote on the $1.8 trillion spending bill.
"I don't think really that Paul Ryan had been one of the conservative voices up here, really from the beginning," the Kentucky senator and Republican presidential candiate told Fox News radio host John Gibson on Friday. "He's never voted not to raise the debt ceiling. We just had a vote two months ago that he voted for to raise the debt ceiling an unspecified amount and bust the budget caps."
"Two years ago, Paul Ryan and Patty Murray got together to get rid of the spending caps,"he continued. "So really, in the last four years, Paul Ryan has been a part of two years that have increased spending caps over a hundred billion dollars. So it's just not conservative."
Paul added that he liked Ryan as person, saying he was "likable," but said, "he frankly just has not held the line on being a fiscal conservative and we are gonna have to have that battle" on debt. Paul said conservatives would have to keep "continuing the debate," but had "lost this one."
Turning to his presidential rival Rubio, the Kentucky senator said "frankly I think Marco should resign or turn his paycheck back in."
"It's one thing for him to be out on the campaign trail talking about spending, but if he doesn't have time to come here and vote, frankly I think the taxpayers shouldn't be paying him," Paul said.