--- title: Syria Airstrikes: John McCain Slams Rand Paul for Response description: John McCain derided Rand Paul's influence in the Senate after he questioned the constitutionality of the Syria airstrikes ordered by Trump canonical: https://time.com/4731909/john-mccain-syria-rand-paul-donald-trump/ author: TIME Staff article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-04-07T22:19:50.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-23T04:18:09.971Z article:section: Politics og:title: John McCain Slams Rand Paul Over Syria: 'He Doesn't Have Any Real Influence' og:description: "I don't pay any attention to what Senator Paul says" og:url: https://time.com/4731909/john-mccain-syria-rand-paul-donald-trump/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2423976d72d6c3ae/6988a43a97cdff19666ada1f/mccain.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2560 og:image:height: 1440 og:image:alt: Campaign 2016 Congress og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: John McCain Slams Rand Paul Over Syria: 'He Doesn't Have Any Real Influence' twitter:description: "I don't pay any attention to what Senator Paul says" twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2423976d72d6c3ae/6988a43a97cdff19666ada1f/mccain.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # John McCain Slams Rand Paul Over Syria: 'He Doesn't Have Any Real Influence' > Sponsored content. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, three times a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. by [TIME Staff](https://time.com/author/time-staff/) ## TIME Staff Apr 7, 2017 10:19 PM UTC  John McCain, R-Ariz, speaks during a Phoenix Memorial Day Ceremony at the National Memorial Cemetery of Arizona in Phoenix, May 30, 2016. John McCain, R-Ariz, speaks during a Phoenix Memorial Day Ceremony at the National Memorial Cemetery of Arizona in Phoenix, May 30, 2016. Ralph Freso—AP by [TIME Staff](https://time.com/author/time-staff/) ## TIME Staff Apr 7, 2017 10:19 PM UTC Sen. John McCain slammed his colleague Rand Paul Friday when asked about the latter’s statement disapproving of [U.S. airstrikes on Syria,](http://time.com/4731467/syria-airstrikes-photos/) saying Paul had no “real influence” in the chamber. “I don’t really react to Senator Paul, we’re just too different,” McCain told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer. “He doesn’t have any real influence in the [United States Senate.”](http://time.com/4728265/senate-supreme-court-neil-gorsuch-nuclear-option/) “I don’t pay any attention to what Senator Paul says,” he added. Blitzer had asked McCain about the statement Paul issued condemning the [White House’s](http://time.com/4731650/white-house-shakeup-steve-bannon-reince-priebus/) decision to conduct unilateral airstrikes on Syria without consulting Congress. “I think what we are doing right now is illegal and unconstitutional,” Paul said Friday on [Fox Business](http://video.foxbusiness.com/v/5389599069001/?#sp=show-clips). > [](https://twitter.com/RandPaul/status/850161531094523906) Several other members of Congress have expressed similar concerns about congressional approval. Rep. Adam Schiff said he will re-introduce an authorization for the use of military force against ISIS and al Qaeda when Congress returns to session in two weeks. “Congress cannot abdicate its responsibility any longer and should vote on any use of force not made in self-defense,” Schiff said in a statement. McCain, who doesn’t agree with Paul’s assessment that President Trump needed congressional approval to launch the airstrikes, issued[ a joint statement ](https://www.mccain.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?ID=E83209A8-647E-48D5-9B30-8F1AA3580F0A)with Senator Lindsey Graham supporting the actions. “Unlike the previous administration, President Trump confronted a pivotal moment in Syria and took action,” McCain and Graham said. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4731909/john-mccain-syria-rand-paul-donald-trump/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4731909/john-mccain-syria-rand-paul-donald-trump/"},"headline":"John McCain Slams Rand Paul Over Syria: 'He Doesn't Have Any Real Influence'","datePublished":"2017-04-07T22:19:50.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T04:18:09.971Z","description":"\"I don't pay any attention to what Senator Paul says\"","url":"https://time.com/4731909/john-mccain-syria-rand-paul-donald-trump/","keywords":["Congress","Syria","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2423976d72d6c3ae/6988a43a97cdff19666ada1f/mccain.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"TIME Staff","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/time-staff/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2423976d72d6c3ae/6988a43a97cdff19666ada1f/mccain.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Campaign 2016 Congress","caption":"John McCain, R-Ariz, speaks during a Phoenix Memorial Day Ceremony at the National Memorial Cemetery of Arizona in Phoenix, May 30, 2016.","creditText":"Ralph Freso—AP","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/congress/","name":"Congress"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4731909/john-mccain-syria-rand-paul-donald-trump/","name":"John McCain Slams Rand Paul Over Syria: 'He Doesn't Have Any Real Influence'"}}]}] ```