Rand Paul Quick Facts | CNN Politics



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Here's a look at the life of Rand Paul, U.S. Senator from Kentucky.

Birthdate: January 7, 1963

Place of birth: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Birth name: Randal Howard Paul

Father: Ron Paul, former presidential candidate and retired U.S. representative from Texas

Mother: Carol (Wells) Pablo

Marriage: Kelley (Ashby) Pablo

Children: Robert, Duncan and William

Education: Attended Baylor University, 1981-1984; Duke University School of Medicine, MD, 1988

Religion: Christian

He practiced as an ophthalmologist for 18 years.

Former president and long-time member of Lions Club International.

He was active in the presidential and congressional campaigns of his father, Ron Paul.

1993 – He completes his ophthalmology residency at Duke University Medical Center.

1994 – He founded the grassroots organization Kentucky Taxpayers United, which monitors state taxes and spending. It was legally dissolved in 2000.

nineteen ninety five – He founded the Southern Kentucky Lions Eye Clinic, a nonprofit organization that provides eye exams and surgeries to those in need.

August 5, 2009 – He announces on Fox News that he is running as a Republican for the United States Senate to represent Kentucky.

May 18, 2010 – Defeats Secretary of State Trey Grayson in the Kentucky Republican Senate primary.

May 19, 2010 – In interviews with NPR and MSNBC, while answering questions about the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Paul expresses a strong abhorrence of racism, but says it is the job of communities, not the government, to address discrimination. Paul later releases a statement saying that he supports the Civil Rights Act and would not support its repeal.

November 2, 2010 – Paul is elected to the Senate, defeating Jack Conway.

January 5, 2011 – Sworn into the 112th Congress. It is the first time a son has joined the Senate while his father simultaneously serves in the House. Ron Paul retires from the House in 2013.

January 27, 2011 – Participate in the inaugural meeting of the Senate Tea Party Caucus with Senators Mike Lee and Jim DeMint.

February 22, 2011 – Paul's book “The Tea Party Goes to Washington” is published.

September 11, 2012 – Paul’s book “Government Thugs: How the Feds Harass, Abuse, and Imprison Ordinary Americans” is published. She is later accused of plagiarism in some of his speeches and writings, including “Government Bullies”. Paul finally takes responsibility, says his office had been “sloppy,” and agrees to add footnotes to all of his future material.

February 12, 2013 – Offers the Tea Party's response to President Barack Obama's State of the Union address.

March 6 and 7, 2013 – Paul speaks for nearly 13 hours, filibustering to stop the confirmation vote on CIA director nominee John Brennan.

February 12, 2014 – Paul and the conservative group FreedomWorks file a class-action lawsuit against Obama and top national security officials over the government's electronic surveillance program made public by intelligence leaker Edward Snowden. The lawsuit is later dismissed.

December 2, 2014 – Paul announces his candidacy for a second term in the Senate.

April 7, 2015 – Paul announces his candidacy for the Republican presidential nomination during an event in Louisville, Kentucky.

May 20, 2015 – After 10 hours and 30 minutes, Paul ends his “filibuster” on National Security Agency surveillance programs authorized under the Patriot Act. Paul's speech was not technically a filibuster due to complex Senate rules, but his office insists it was a filibuster.

August 5, 2015 – The Justice Department charges two officials of a Rand Paul Super PAC with conspiracy and falsifying campaign records. During the 2012 presidential primary season, Jesse Benton and John Tate allegedly bribed an Iowa state senator to endorse Ron Paul. Benton and Tate help run one of the Super PACs supporting Rand Paul, the US Liberty PAC. Both men are subsequently convicted.

February 3, 2016 – He announces that he is suspending his campaign for the presidency.

November 8, 2016 – He wins a second term in the Senate, defeating Democrat Jim Gray.

November 3, 2017 – A neighbor attacks Paul at his home in Bowling Green, Kentucky, resulting in six broken ribs and a pleural effusion, a buildup of fluid around the lungs. The lawyer representing Paul's neighbor, René Boucher, later says that the event had “absolutely nothing” to do with politics and was “a very regrettable dispute between two neighbors over a matter that most people would consider trivial.” . Boucher, who pleaded guilty to the assault, was sentenced in June 2018 to 30 days in prison with one year of supervised release.

August 2018 – He goes to Moscow and meets with Russian lawmakers and extends an invitation to them to visit the United States. While abroad, Paul tweets that he delivered a letter to Russian leader Vladimir Putin from US President Donald Trump. A White House spokesperson later says Paul asked Trump to provide him with a letter of introduction. After his return, Paul says he plans to ask Trump to lift sanctions on members of the Russian legislature so they can come to Washington to meet with their American counterparts.

January 29, 2019 – A jury awards him more than $580,000 in his lawsuit against the neighbor who attacked him in 2017. The amount includes punitive damages and payment for pain and suffering, as well as medical damages.

August 5, 2019 – Paul says part of his lung had to be surgically removed after Boucher's attack in 2017.

March 22, 2020 – Paul announces that he tested positive for the new coronavirus, becoming the first US senator to test positive for coronavirus.

August 10, 2021 – Paul is suspended from YouTube for seven days for a video claiming masks are ineffective in combating Covid-19, according to a YouTube spokesperson.

November 8, 2022 – He wins re-election to the Senate for a third term.

October 10, 2023 – Paul’s book “Deception: The Great Covid Cover-Up” is published.

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