Rand Paul wants to abolish agency established under Trump, but calls prospect 'unlikely'

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Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., wants the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) to be abolished, but described the prospect as "unlikely," he told Politico.

"I'd like to eliminate it," Paul told the outlet. "The First Amendment is pretty important, that's why we listed it as the First Amendment, and I would have liked to, at the very least, eliminate their ability to censor content online."

"While it's unlikely we could get rid of CISA, we survived for what, 248 years without them," Paul said. "I think a lot of what they do is intrusive, and I’d like to end their intrusions into the First Amendment."

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Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., questions Secretary of Health and Human Services Xavier Becerra about vaccines during a Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee hearing to discuss reopening schools during the Covid-19 pandemic at Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., on Sept. 30, 2021. (Greg Nash/Pool/Getty Images)

CISA senior advisor for public affairs Ron Eckstein said in a statement to Fox News Digital, "CISA does not and has never censored speech or facilitated censorship. Such allegations are riddled with factual inaccuracies. Every day, the men and women of CISA execute the agency’s mission of reducing risk to U.S. critical infrastructure in a way that protects Americans’ freedom of speech, civil rights, civil liberties, and privacy.

"In response to concerns from election officials of all parties regarding foreign influence operations and disinformation that may impact the security of election infrastructure, CISA mitigates the risk of disinformation by sharing information on election security with the public and by amplifying the trusted voices of election officials across the nation," he added.

CISA was established in 2018 during President-elect Trump's first White House tenure. 

"On November 16, 2018, the President signed into law the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency Act of 2018," which established CISA, according to cisa.gov.

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Republicans won the Senate majority during the 2024 election, and Paul, the ranking member of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, is slated to become the chair during the next session of Congress. 

"I chose to chair this Committee over another because I believe that, for the health of our republic, Congress must stand up once again for its constitutional role," the senator noted in a press release. 

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Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., talks to reporters at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

"This Committee's mission of oversight and investigations is critical to Congress reasserting itself. Our first hearing will examine reinstating the successful Remain in Mexico policy from the first Trump Administration," he said.

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Paul has served in the Senate since 2011.