On Thursday, President Trump clarified that Senator Rand Paul (R-Ky.) is indeed invited to the White House for the Congressional Picnic. This clarification follows claims made by Paul and Representative Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) that they had been “uninvited” due to their opposition to Trump’s tax cut and spending package.
Paul had mentioned on Wednesday evening that he intended to attend the event with his wife, son, daughter-in-law, and 6-month-old grandson. However, he was subsequently informed that he was no longer welcome, as reported by The Hill.
In contrast, Trump disputed this account, asserting that “of course” Senator Rand Paul and his “beautiful wife” were invited. He emphasized that Paul’s presence was particularly appreciated, considering he remains one of the key holdouts regarding Trump’s tax cut and spending package.
Trump remarked, “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 secure his Vote on the Great, Big, Beautiful Bill, one of the greatest and most significant pieces of legislation ever presented to our Senators and Congressmen/women,” in a post on Truth Social.
Massie, another critic of the president’s “big, beautiful bill,” indicated that the White House also denied him tickets to the picnic.
Massie expressed, “Incredibly petty & shortsighted of Trump’s staff to exclude Republicans from the annual White House picnic while inviting Pelosi and every Democrat,” in a post on the social platform X early Thursday morning.
The Congressional Picnic is set to take place at 7 p.m. EDT on Thursday on the South Lawn of the White House, hosted by President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump. This event is part of a long-standing tradition, with both Democratic and Republican administrations inviting lawmakers from both parties to come together and socialize on the lawn.
Both Massie—one of only two House Republicans to oppose the bill last month—and Paul have expressed their disapproval of the legislation due to its effects on the federal deficit. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimates that the suggested tax reductions would lead to a decrease in government revenue exceeding $3.6 trillion over the next ten years, although the CBO’s history of accurately forecasting costs and deficits has not been particularly impressive.
In the meantime, spending cuts—mainly through reforms to Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program—are anticipated to yield savings of $1.2 trillion, resulting in a net increase to the deficit of roughly $2.4 trillion, but this is contingent upon the CBO’s estimates being credible.
On their part, officials from the Trump administration involved in commerce and trade assert that the revenue increases from tariffs and heightened economic activity among American consumers will more than compensate for the deficit.
Earlier, Paul informed reporters that he was uncertain whether the retracted invitation originated directly from President Trump or from White House personnel, but he expressed hope that it was not a personal decision made by the president.
“I am unsure if this originated from the president himself — let’s hope that is not the case, but if it is not, it is likely coming from his petty staffers who have been conducting a sort of paid influencer campaign against me for two weeks on Twitter,” Paul remarked.
“If you examine my Twitter feed, it is inundated with these individuals; we are aware they are being compensated because someone from the White House has informed us that they were contacted by the White House and offered money to attack me online,” he continued.
This week, Trump disclosed that he is willing to mend fences with billionaire Elon Musk following their dispute over the president’s “big, beautiful bill.”
“I hold no animosity. I was genuinely taken aback by that occurrence. He criticized a bill that is outstanding. I believe he genuinely regrets having said that,” Trump stated during an interview on “Pod Force One.”
