The son of Republican Senator Rand Paul has announced plans to seek treatment for alcoholism following an incident where he made anti-Semitic remarks to Republican Congressman Mike Lawler.
On Tuesday evening, at the Tune Inn, a bar on Capitol Hill, William Paul approached Lawler with comments regarding a forthcoming House primary in Kentucky, Paul’s home state.
Paul allegedly told Lawler that if Representative Thomas Massie, known for his libertarian views, loses his primary bid, it would be because of “your people,” as initially reported by NOTUS.
Lawler responded to Paul, questioning, “My people?”
Paul reportedly replied, “Yeah, you Jews,” to which Lawler clarified, “Do you think I’m Jewish? I’m not.”
‘Do you think I’m Jewish?’ Lawler asked. ‘I’m not.’
In his own telling to reporters on Capitol Hill Wednesday, Lawler noted how he told Paul he was an ‘Irish-Italian Catholic.’
‘Oh wow, I’m so sorry for calling you a Jew,’ Paul then said, according to NOTUS.
But the exchange didn’t end there.
William Paul, the son of Senator Rand Paul, claimed a drinking problem was responsible for anti-Semitic and homophobic comments he made Tuesday night at the Tune Inn to Representative Mike Lawler and in front of a reporter for the news organization NOTUS
Representative Mike Lawler was targeted by Senator Rand Paul’s son at a DC dive bar for being a ‘Jew.’ Lawler is Catholic but represents a heavily Jewish New York district. He called Paul’s comment ‘f***ing disgusting’ when talking to reporters Wednesday
Lawler said Paul engaged in a ‘roughly 10 minute diatribe’ in which the senator’s son used a number of anti-Semitic tropes.
‘And at one point, you know, [he] said he hates Jews and hates gays and doesn’t care if they die, and I think that’s f***ing disgusting,’ the New York Republican told reporters outside the Capitol Building.
Lawler said the conversation ‘shortly thereafter’ ended, with Paul making a dramatic exit.
NOTUS reported that on his way out, the Senator’s son ‘knocked his barstool down and tripped over it.’
‘He gave me the middle finger and then tripped on his way out the door,’ the congressman described.
The whole exchanged happened in front of Reese Gorman, a Congressional reporter for NOTUS.
After the story broke and after Lawler confirmed the account to reporters, Paul put up a public apology on his X account.
His handle is TastyBrew1776.
William Paul (right) is seen in a family photo on facebook alongside his father, Senator Rand Paul (second from left)
A 2013 mugshot of William Paul. He was charged with underage drinking, disorderly conduct and assaulting a flight attendant
‘Last night, I had too much to drink and said some things that don’t represent who I really am,’ Paul said. ‘I’m sorry and today I am seeking help for my drinking problem,’ he said.
Paul had worked on the Hill for Representative Mike Collins, now a US Senate candidate in Georgia, whose office was previously rocked by a scandal involving a chief of staff hiring his girlfriend.
Senator Paul’s office did not immediately respond to the Daily Mail’s request for comment.
Paul, who is now in his 30s, racked up a number of alcohol-related charges in his youth, according to reports from the Louisville, Kentucky-based WDRB.
In 2015, he was pulled over in Lexington, Kentucky and cited for driving under the influence of alcohol and pleaded guilty.
At the time, his father was readying a presidential bid.
In 2013, Paul was charged with underage drinking, disorderly conduct and simple assault against a female flight attendant.
Those charges were later dropped.
Also that year, Paul was cited for being a minor in possession of alcohol at the Keeneland Race Course.
