Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) (Screenshot)

(CNSNews.com) – Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) expressed concern Sunday with President Donald Trump’s pick to head the DOJ – William Barr, because the former attorney general for President George H.W. Bush is “a big supporter of the Patriot Act, which lowered the standard for spying on Americans.”



“It’s been noted that he has an expansive view of executive power. And when I heard that, I thought, ‘Uh-oh. He may have trouble getting Rand Paul's vote for confirmation.’ Am I correct?” NBC’s Chuck Todd asked.





“Uh-oh is right. I'm concerned that he's been a big supporter of the Patriot Act, which lowered the standard for spying on Americans, and he even went so far as to say, you know, ‘The Patriot Act was pretty good, but we should go much further,’” Paul told NBC’s “Meet the Press.”



Paul also expressed concern for Barr’s support for civil asset forfeiture, which Paul said, unfairly targets poor people.



“I'm disturbed that he's been a big fan of taking people's property, civil asset forfeiture, without a conviction. Many poor people in our country have cash taken from them and then the government says, ‘Prove to us where you got the cash,’ and then you can get it back, but the burden is on the individual,” the senator said.



“It's a terrible thing called civil asset forfeiture. He's a big fan of that. I haven't made a decision yet on him, but I can tell you the first things that I've learned about him being for more surveillance of Americans is very, very troubling,” Paul added.



As CNSNews.com previously reported, Trump nominated Barr for U.S. attorney general to succeed former Attorney General Jeff Sessions.