President Trump clarified Thursday that Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) is indeed invited to the White House for the Congressional Picnic, following claims by Paul and Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) that they had been “uninvited” due to their opposition to Trump’s tax cut and spending package.
Paul had stated Wednesday evening that he planned to attend the event with his wife, son, daughter-in-law, and 6-month-old grandson, but was later informed he was no longer welcome, The Hill reported.
However, Trump disputed that version of events, stating that “of course” Sen. Rand Paul and his “beautiful wife” were invited. He added that Paul’s attendance was especially welcome given that he remains one of the key holdouts on Trump’s tax cut and spending package.
“He’s the toughest vote in the history of the U.S. Senate, but why wouldn’t he be? Besides, it gives me more time to get his Vote on the Great, Big, Beautiful Bill, one of the greatest and most important pieces of legislation ever put before our Senators & Congressmen/women,” Trump said in a Truth Social Post.
Massie, another critic of the president’s “big, beautiful bill,” stated that the White House also refused to give him tickets to the picnic.
“Incredibly petty & shortsighted of Trump’s staff to exclude Republicans from the annual White House picnic while inviting Pelosi and every Democrat,” Massie wrote in a post on the social platform X early Thursday morning.
The Congressional Picnic is scheduled for 7 p.m. EDT on Thursday on the White House South Lawn, hosted by President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump. The event is part of a longstanding tradition, with both Democratic and Republican administrations inviting lawmakers from both parties to gather and socialize on the lawn.
Both Massie—one of only two House Republicans to vote against the bill last month—and Paul have criticized the legislation for its impact on the federal deficit. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimates that the proposed tax cuts would reduce government revenue by more than $3.6 trillion over the next decade, though the CBO’s record of predicting costs and deficits has been less than stellar.
Meanwhile, spending reductions—primarily through reforms to Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program—are projected to save $1.2 trillion, resulting in a net increase to the deficit of approximately $2.4 trillion, but that’s only if the CBO’s estimate is to be believed.
For their part, Trump administration officials involved in commerce and trade say the increases in income that will come from tariffs and more economic activity among American consumers will more than offset the deficit.
Earlier, Paul told reporters he was unsure whether the rescinded invitation came directly from President Trump or from White House staff, but added that he hoped it hadn’t been the president’s personal decision.
“I don’t know if this came from the president on down — let’s hope not, but if not, it’s coming from his petty staffers who have been running a, sort of a paid influencer campaign against me for two weeks on Twitter,” Paul said.
“If you look at my Twitter, it’s just gobs and gobs of these people, we know they’re being paid because the White House, someone has told us the White House called them from the White House and offered them money to attack me online,” he added.
Trump revealed this week that he is open to reconciling with billionaire Elon Musk over their falling out due to the president’s “big, beautiful bill.”
“Look, I have no hard feelings. I was really surprised that that happened. He went after a bill that’s phenomenal. He just — I think he feels very badly that he said that, actually,” Trump said during an interview on “Pod Force One with Miranda Devine” that was published Wednesday.