Sen. Rand Paul returned to the Senate on Monday after being seriously injured at his home in an alleged attack by his neighbor earlier this month.
There was “no justification” for his being attacked 10 days ago while doing yard work at his home in Kentucky, Paul told the Washington Examiner in his first interview since the incident.
The report said the senator was struggling to breathe and often stopped to catch his breath and talk. Paul also said he knew of no motive that would have sparked his neighbor to hit him from behind.
“From my perspective, I’m not really too concerned about what someone’s motive is. I’m just concerned that I was attacked from the back and somebody broke six of my ribs and gave me a damaged lung where at least for now I have trouble speaking and breathing and now I’ve hurt for 10 days,” Paul said.
Paul returned to the Senate Monday afternoon as Republicans began marking up their tax plan in the finance committee.
“Kelley and I want to thank everyone once again for your thoughts and prayers for my recovery,” he tweeted Monday morning. “While I’m still in a good deal of pain, I will be returning to work in the Senate today, ready to fight for liberty and help move forward with tax cuts in the coming days and weeks.”
The Kentucky Republican suffered six broken ribs after the November 3 incident with Rene Boucher, his neighbor of 17 years. Boucher pleaded not guilty Thursday to misdemeanor fourth degree assault charges.
While initial reports suggested the two men were disputing over lawn issues, the senator tweeted articles last week questioning those explanations.
And his senior adviser Doug Stafford said the two men hadn’t talked in years prior to the attack. “This was not a ‘fight,’ it was a blindside, violent attack by a disturbed person,” Stafford said in a statement. “Anyone claiming otherwise is simply uninformed or seeking media attention.”
The Senate is expected to hold two votes Monday evening related to administration nominations. Paul is also considered a critical vote on the tax reform bill, which will be marked up in the Senate finance committee this week.