Welcome to the world of President Rand Paul - Josh Rogin

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Welcome to the world of President Rand Paul
By Josh Rogin
Columnist
December 27 at 6:05 PM

President’s Trump’s foreign policy follows no firm ideology but is often a combination of his long-held personal views and the influence of whoever currently has his ear. These days, Trump is listening more than ever to Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), who is quietly steering U.S. foreign policy in a new direction.

After Trump’s abrupt decision to withdraw all U.S. troops from Syria — against the advice of his entire national security team — a stunned Washington establishment rushed to blame Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who reportedly asked Trump to leave Syria during a Dec. 14 phone call. But Erdogan has made that request for years. What’s changed recently is whom Trump is listening to back home.

Several U.S. officials and people who have spoken directly to Trump since his Syria decision tell me they believe that Paul’s frequent phone conversations with Trump, wholly outside the policy process, are having an outsize influence on the president’s recent foreign policy decisions. The two golf buddies certainly are sounding a lot alike recently.

Read more at: https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/global-opinions/welcome-to-the-world-of-president-rand-paul/2018/12/27/0f91a1ae-0a1a-11e9-85b6-41c0fe0c5b8f_story.html?utm_term=.6b157ad74371