There were the warnings against flag-burning, the threats of tariffs, and the intervention in Carrier manufacturing negotiations. And now, there’s the possible appointment of ultra-hawkish John Bolton to a top role at the State Department.

Donald Trump’s transition is raising flag after red flag for libertarians, a Republican-leaning group that in turn has emerged as a vocal, frequent thorn in the side of the incoming administration even as some previous “Never Trumpers” have gone dark.


And with Sen. Rand Paul’s power to bog down Trump’s nominees, the libertarian movement sees tangible opportunities to make its influence felt.

“Somebody’s got to be out there reminding Republicans where we stand on all of these issues,” said Brendan Steinhauser, a conservative operative based in Texas with deep ties to the liberty movement.

He pointed to the tariff and Carrier issues in particular as Trump actions giving libertarians heartburn, even as he said activists were also ready to “cheer” on Trump when he made more conservative calls and Cabinet nominations, and there have been several.

“Yes, our president — of our party, our country — may have some ideas that are very different,” he said. “It’s incumbent on us to remind him, our party, our country, what good, pro-liberty policies are. That’s a very practical thing. It’s happening right now.”

Some of the loudest and potentially most consequential libertarian dissent has come in response to Trump’s flirtation with Bolton for a plum job at the State Department, possibly as the No. 2 to ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson, whom Trump named as his secretary of state pick on Tuesday.

Bolton, the conservative former United Nations ambassador who strongly supported the Iraq War, has particularly stoked the ire of Paul in the Senate.

“I am a no on John Bolton for ANY position in the State [Department] and will work to defeat his nomination to any post,”the Kentucky Republican tweeted on Sunday.

Paul sits on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and has the power to stop the committee from recommending Bolton, if Democrats unanimously join in to block him. Other prominent libertarian outlets, including leaders with Young Americans for Liberty, have been quick to back him up.

In a recent interview, Paul — who endorsed Trump during the campaign as he dealt with his own reelection — told POLITICO that he remains supportive of Trump and his campaign promises, and he has gone out of his way to praise other nominations.

But he argued that nominating Bolton for a top slot at State would contradict a number of positions Trump took as a candidate, including opposition to the Iraq War, something Trump initially supported but made a point during the race to paint as a bad idea. Bolton — who himself is a longtime critic of Paul’s more hands-off approach to foreign policy — has also called for bombing Iran and has since been unapologetic about his support for the war in Iraq. That’s been a key sticking point with Paul.

“My efforts to insert myself into the public debate are not to oppose Donald Trump, they’re to support what Donald Trump said in the campaign,” Paul said, speaking at a time when Bolton was under more serious consideration to lead the State Department (though Paul has reiterated his opposition to Bolton in any role since then). “Regime change made us less safe, and the Iraq War allowed for chaos. … I agree on those things Trump said. I would just hate for, at the very beginning, that those things he professed on the campaign trail to be diminished or besmirched by having someone in charge of the State Department who doesn’t agree with Donald Trump.”

A Bolton representative had no comment.

Trump’s consideration of Bolton is just one alarming sign for libertarian leaders who weren’t the face of the Never Trump movement during the campaign, but who have since emerged as among the right’s most willing figures to draw contrasts with Trump.

The “liberty movement,” a sprawling network of groups and public figures whose priorities range from auditing the Federal Reserve to returning to the gold standard to reducing military intervention abroad, was never fully united behind the Never Trump movement. Those who were opposed to Trump during the campaign were often overshadowed by more prominent dissenters, like Mitt Romney and Jeb Bush.

But since the campaign, it’s the voices aligned with the liberty movement that are often among the loudest ones pushing back on various Trump proposals, especially as other more establishment Republicans have made efforts to give the incoming administration breathing room.

Certainly, there are other conservatives who have long been wary of Trump and continue to express misgivings, and several Republican senators have outlined major concerns about Tillerson and are bracing for a potential fight, including Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, who also has already moved on immigration-related legislation designed to stymie potential hard-line deportation moves from a Trump administration.

Sen. Rand Paul has been vocal about Donald Trump's appointments. | AP Photo

But so far it is only Paul who has gone so far as to threaten to attempt to block a possible nominee from his own party’s president.

In the House, perhaps the most pointed Republican Trump critic also comes from the liberty wing of the party. Rep. Justin Amash (R-Mich.) has said he is “deeply concerned” about Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.), Trump’s choice for attorney general. He jabbed back at Trump after the president-elected tweeted that anyone who burns the flag should face consequences (“No president is allowed to burn the First Amendment,” Amash retorted on Twitter).

And he swiped at Trump’s 35 percent tariff proposal on goods from companies that move overseas: “Maybe the slogan should be #MakeAmericaVenezuela.”

The priorities are diverse in the often-contrarian liberty movement, and there has been diversity, too, in their criticism, ranging from the sense that the “Wall Street establishment” has been overly empowered by a number of Trump’s personnel selections who have deep ties to Goldman Sachs, to fears for civil liberties protections. Many libertarians were also plenty critical of George W. Bush, some activists note, so it’s not a big leap for them to express concerns about another Republican president.

Asked about the onetime Republican Trump critics who are now holding their tongues — Romney, for example, had been under consideration to serve in Trump’s Cabinet, and Carly Fiorina, who clashed with Trump during the campaign, met with him Monday — one plugged-in libertarian activist replied, “The type of Republicans who always get behind their party are doing it again, even if it makes them more uncomfortable than if Jeb or Marco were elected.”

“Basically, people are trying to operate the same way,” the source continued. “Whether Trump upends that model remains to be seen. … People right now are trying to be as normal as possible and hoping they can still get their agenda through, but for libertarian Republicans, criticizing the president-elect is par for the course.”

And, several libertarian leaders noted, there’s been much for libertarians to cheer about as well, from high hopes for scaled-back regulations, to strong selections, in their view, for appointments to lead departments like the Environmental Protection Agency and Health and Human Services.

“People have some concerns, but for the most part I think are pretty positive with the big-picture outlook, with regard to lower taxes, less regulation,” said Brian Darling, a former top Senate aide to Paul. “So I think you’ll see the liberty movement, moving forward, being critical at times, but being very supportive on big issues like repealing Obamacare, regulation reform, tax reform.”

The Trump transition didn’t respond to a request for comment.

Still, some libertarians see it as their responsibility to serve as a check on the president-elect.

“There’s a tendency, especially in the honeymoon period, that people can be unwilling to criticize a president-elect,” said Norm Singleton, a longtime aide to former Rep. Ron Paul, who now runs Campaign for Liberty. “The liberty movement, though, because it tends not to view politics through a partisan lens as much as other establishment parts of the center-right coalition, they’re more willing to not view it as, ‘Well, we can’t be as critical of Donald Trump as we were of Barack Obama because he’s our [party’s] president.’”

