Kentucky's junior U.S.

Senator Rand Paul spoke to Louisville business leaders yesterday at a lunch hosted by Greater Louisville, Inc., the chamber there.

He says the uncertain T around tariffs is the biggest concern he's hearing from Kentucky's business community.

Our Mackenzie Spinks shares.

More on Senator Paul's remarks on the Capital Connection luncheon hosted by Greater Louisville, Inc..

If business leaders an opportunity to ask Senator Rand Paul questions about issues like economic development and workforce initiatives.

But the primary topic of discussion was tariffs.

Senator Paul says he's not happy with the way President Trump enacted these tariffs in the first place.

He has declared a trade emergency.

Well, how is an emergency over something that's been going on for decades?

Trade.

It's been going on for decades, but we now have an emergency.

But what does that emergency do?

It allows them to bypass Congress.

So tariffs $300 billion so far have been passed without anybody's approval, without the approval of your representatives.

So I think that's wrong.

And many Republicans like we love the president.

Just be quiet.

I hear that mine.

I look at my Twitter feed.

That's what they're all saying.

It's overwhelmingly, you know, saying just obey the president.

Do what the president wants.

Senator Paul says he's hearing concerns from Kentucky's leading businesses.

Think of the airport and your biggest customer here ups a third of what they do is international trade.

You know, you look at the other businesses, you look at the bourbon industry.

A lot of their trade is, overseas as well, or to our northern border, where they're no longer even putting bourbon on the shelves.

So there are ramifications.

One industry that he says has been affected negatively is Kentucky's farmers.

You know we so tariffs are so great.

They don't hurt anybody.

Well they're hurting the farmers.

People tend to forget that the Farm Bureau, their manual that they give us is absolutely for free trade.

They export 20 to 25% of their crop and it's hurt them.

Senator Paul says emergency power isn't just bad in the hands of the president, condemning Governor Bashir's exercise of emergency powers during the Covid 19 pandemic.

He closed the schools, he closed the gyms, he closed the churches.

He did all of this through emergency power.

If you don't like Donald Trump using emergency power, you have to have the same viewpoint with Governor Beshear.

It's emergency power shouldn't be done.

But you know what we did in this state?

It's the most important reform in my lifetime in this state.

And what they said is something very simple.

Emergencies end after 30 days.

An emergency has to be affirmed, but it automatically ends.

I have the exact same bill in Congress.

But here's the problem.

When there was a President Biden, I had a lot of Republicans on my bill.

Now that there's a President Trump, they've fallen away.

Many of the people who support it won't support it.

While both the House and Senate are in recess until September 2nd.

Senator Paul has been connecting with other constituents across the state.

He says concern over the national debt is what he's been hearing about the most from people at large.

I think still worried about how much, you know, we're in debt.

I think the Kentucky still is is a conservative state and thinks that we should, you know, balance our budget.

Every family has to do it.

The government should to.

Senator Paul also presented a ceremonial check for $8.3 million, money that his office has not spent from its budget since he has been in office, and instead returned to the Treasury for Kentucky edition.

I'm Mackenzie Spink.