The Kentucky Republican had a rough week but found a friendly audience Friday night headlining an “Audit the Fed” rally at Jasper Winery in Des Moines, an event packed with many of his father’s supporters and hosted by a group called Liberty Iowa.
It was a curious strategy for a man who’s trying to build a broad coalition of voters behind him, but he assured supporters that he hasn’t strayed far from his roots.
“Some of you may remember I sued the President,” he said, pointing to a lawsuit he launched last year against the National Security Agency over its bulk metadata collection effort.
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The bill last year passed the GOP-controlled House with bipartisan support but was blocked by the Democratic-led Senate.
Critics, including Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen, have vowed to aggressively fight such efforts. Emboldened by the new Republican Congress, however, Paul feels that the legislation has a better shot at breaking through and making it to the President’s desk.
“I think there needs to be some sunshine. I’m going to fight ’em and we’re going to get a vote on Audit the Fed,” he said to applause.
