Rand Paul hits Cruz, Rubio on refugees ahead of debate

by Jordain Carney - 12/14/15 1:00 PM ET

Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) is slamming fellow senators and GOP presidential candidates Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) on Syrian refugees ahead of Tuesday’s Republican presidential debate.

The Kentucky Republican’s campaign released a new ad suggesting that the two senators backed accepting refugees ahead of last month’s Paris terrorist attacks and that they “refused to learn from mistakes” even after two Iraqi refugees, Waad Ramadan Alwan and Mohanad Shareef Hammadi, were arrested for trying to send weapons and money to al Qaeda.

{mosads}The ad, entitled “Learn From Mistakes,” includes a clip of Cruz, saying, “We have welcomed refugees — the tired, huddled masses for centuries. That’s been the history of the United States. We should continue to do so.”

The Texas Republican’s comments were part of a Feb. 2014 interview with Fox News. He also said that the U.S. government should be “vigilant” about making sure refugees don’t have ties to terrorist groups.

Paul’s ad also includes audio of Rubio saying that he would be open to accepting refugees. The Florida Republican told Boston Herald Radio earlier this year that he would be “open to that if it can be done in a way that allows us to ensure that among them are not infiltrated.”

The ad, which aims to bolster Paul’s national security credentials ahead of the final Republican presidential debate of the year, says that the candidate “sounded the alarm” over refugees and is “leading the fight to stop terrorism at our borders.”

While Paul’s campaign said the ad will air in New Hampshire and Iowa, they declined to disclose the size of the buy.

It’s not the first time Paul has taken aim at his Republican opponents on the issue.

He and Rubio have been locked in a war of words for months over a range of national security issues, with Paul criticizing the Florida Republican for preferring “open borders” after Rubio voted against his visa waiver proposal.

Paul doubled down on that battle in Monday’s new ad, saying that while he “wrote the amendment to suspend visas to nations with high risks of terrorism … Marco Rubio voted no.”

The Kentucky Republican tried to include an amendment to the ObamaCare repeal bill that would pause visas for almost 40 countries that have a “high risk of terrorism.” It would also require individuals from Visa Waiver Program countries to wait 30 days before entering the country.

Ten Republican senators, including Paul and Cruz, voted for the amendment.

The spot comes after Paul just made the cut for the main stage for the next presidential debate, following speculation that he could be demoted to the undercard because of his polling numbers.

–This report was updated at 1:52 p.m.

Tags Marco Rubio Rand Paul Ted Cruz