Sen. Rand Paul Randal (Rand) Howard PaulSecond GOP senator to quarantine after exposure to coronavirus GOP senator to quarantine after coronavirus exposure The Hill's Morning Report - Sponsored by National Industries for the Blind - Trump seeks to flip 'Rage' narrative; Dems block COVID-19 bill MORE (R-Ky.) is praising conservative members of the House amid the uproar over finding a new Speaker and a looming budget battle.

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In an interview with TIME, the Republican presidential candidate praised the House Freedom Caucus, which pushed Speaker John Boehner John Andrew BoehnerLongtime House parliamentarian to step down Five things we learned from this year's primaries Bad blood between Pelosi, Meadows complicates coronavirus talks MORE (R-Ohio) toward stepping down and helped torpedo Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy's (R-Calif.) bid to replace him.

“We took over the House. We took over the Senate. And nothing has changed. People see it as an abdication of leadership, and so they’re ready for new leadership,” Paul said. “The 40 congressmen are, I think, reflective actually of the greater will of the party.

“People want to marginalize these 30 or 40 as crazy right-wing people, but they probably represent the true feeling of the grassroots as much as—or more than—those who have been there for a long time,” Paul continued in the TIME interview, conducted in Iowa.

“The longer that you are there, the less reflective of the people and more reflective of inertia," Paul added.

The libertarian-leaning lawmaker has been close with some members of the group, with founding member Rep. Mick Mulvaney (R-S.C.) endorsing Paul's presidential bid.

Republicans have called for Rep. Paul Ryan Paul Davis RyanKenosha will be a good bellwether in 2020 At indoor rally, Pence says election runs through Wisconsin Juan Williams: Breaking down the debates MORE (R-Wis.) to run for Speaker after McCarthy abruptly dropped out of the race last Thursday, a day after the Freedom Caucus endorsed little-known Rep. Daniel Webster (R-Fla.). Ryan has so far signaled that he is not interested.

Paul told TIME that, like members of the caucus, he similarly objected to raising the debt ceiling and passing a budget in the coming weeks without reform to spending.

“The 40 conservatives in the House will vote against raising the debt ceiling and they will vote against the continuing resolution. And I’m with them," Paul told the magazine.