Rand Paul's son divulges reason for unhinged anti-Semitic bar rant at Republican lawmaker

By NIKKI SCHWAB, CHIEF CAMPAIGN CORRESPONDENT Published: 23:14, 13 May 2026 | Updated: 23:16, 13 May 2026 The son of Republican Senator Rand Paul is now saying he'll seek treatment for a drinking problem after he went on an anti-Semitic tirade to Republican Congressman Mike Lawler. Tuesday night at the Capitol Hill dive bar, the Tune Inn, William Paul confronted Lawler over an upcoming House primary in Paul's home state of Kentucky.  Paul told Lawler that if libertarian-leaning Republican Representative Thomas Massie loses his primary last week it's thanks to 'your people,' NOTUS first reported.  'My people?' Lawler asked Paul.   'Yeah, you Jews,' the senator's son responded.  'Do you think I'm Jewish?' Lawler asked. 'I'm not.'  In his own telling to reporters on Capitol Hill Wednesday, Lawler noted how he told Paul he was an 'Irish-Italian Catholic.'  'Oh wow, I'm so sorry for calling you a Jew,' Paul then said, according to NOTUS.  But the exchange didn't end there.  William Paul, the son of Senator Rand Paul, claimed a drinking problem was responsible for anti-Semitic and homophobic comments he made Tuesday night at the Tune Inn to Representative Mike Lawler and in front of a reporter for the news organization NOTUS Representative Mike Lawler was targeted by Senator Rand Paul's son at a DC dive bar for being a 'Jew.' Lawler is Catholic but represents a heavily Jewish New York district. He called Paul's comment 'f***ing disgusting' when talking to reporters Wednesday  Lawler said Paul engaged in a 'roughly 10 minute diatribe' in which the senator's son used a number of anti-Semitic tropes.   'And at one point, you know, [he] said he hates Jews and hates gays and doesn't care if they die, and I think that's f***ing disgusting,' the New York Republican told reporters outside the Capitol Building.  Lawler said the conversation 'shortly thereafter' ended, with Paul making a dramatic exit.  NOTUS reported that on his way out, the Senator's son 'knocked his barstool down and tripped over it.'  'He gave me the middle finger and then tripped on his way out the door,' the congressman described.  The whole exchanged happened in front of Reese Gorman, a Congressional reporter for NOTUS.  After the story broke and after Lawler confirmed the account to reporters, Paul put up a public apology on his X account. William Paul (right) is seen in a family photo on facebook alongside his father, Senator Rand Paul (second from left)  A 2013 mugshot of William Paul. He was charged with underage drinking, disorderly conduct and assaulting a flight attendant 'Last night, I had too much to drink and said some things that don't represent who I really am,' Paul said. 'I'm sorry and today I am seeking help for my drinking problem,' he said.  Paul had worked on the Hill for Representative Mike Collins, now a US Senate candidate in Georgia, whose office was previously rocked by a scandal involving a chief of staff hiring his girlfriend.  Senator Paul's office did not immediately respond to the Daily Mail's request for comment.  Paul, who is now in his 30s, racked up a number of alcohol-related charges in his youth, according to reports from the Louisville, Kentucky-based WDRB.  In 2015, he was pulled over in Lexington, Kentucky and cited for driving under the influence of alcohol and pleaded guilty.   At the time, his father was readying a presidential bid.  In 2013, Paul was charged with underage drinking, disorderly conduct and simple assault against a female flight attendant.  Those charges were later dropped.  Also that year, Paul was cited for being a minor in possession of alcohol at the Keeneland Race Course.   The comments below have not been moderated. The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.