Rand Paul in Reason magazine

On Environment: Hurricane recovery money is bankrupting the government

"They're precisely the same people who are unwilling to cut the spending, and their 'Gimme, gimme, gimme--give me all my Sandy money now.'" Paul said, referring to federal funding after the hurricane last year. "Those are the people who are bankrupting the government and not letting enough money be left over for national defense."

Paul said he wasn't the one itching for a fight: "I didn't start this one, and I don't plan on starting things by criticizing other Republicans," he said. "But if they want to make me the target, they will get it back in spades."