Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky says President-elect Donald Trump must steer clear of considering John Bolton for U.S. secretary of state.

"Heaven forbid … Bolton is a longtime member of the failed Washington elite that Trump vowed to oppose, hell-bent on repeating virtually every foreign policy mistake the U.S. has made in the last 15 years," Paul writes in an opinion piece published on Rare.us.

"John Bolton more often stood with Hillary Clinton and against what Donald Trump has advised … [He] was one of the loudest advocates of overthrowing Saddam Hussein and still stupefyingly insists it was the right call 13 years later. Trump, rightly, believes that decision was a colossal mistake that destabilized the region."

Paul added that no man is "more out of touch with the situation in the Middle East or more dangerous to our national security" than Bolton.

"All nuance is lost on the man. The fact that Russia has had a base in Syria for 50 years doesn't deter Bolton from calling for all out, no holds barred war in Syria …

"At a time when Americans thirst for change and new thinking, Bolton is an old hand at failed foreign policy. The man is a menace."