Republican Party

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Sen. Rand Paul, Kentucky Republican, is calling for the GOP to adopt a more restrained and less interventionist approach to global affairs, and is embracing the sequester cuts to the defense budget that have military hawks in a tizzy. (Associated Press)

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**FILE** House Speaker John Boehner, Ohio Republican, wraps up a news conference Feb. 26, 2013, on Capitol Hill in Washington, where he and GOP leaders challenged President Obama and the Senate to avoid the automatic spending cuts set to take effect four days later. (Associated Press)

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** FILE ** Then-Florida Republican Party Chairman Jim Greer talks with reporters after receiving a vote of confidence from the executive committee of state GOP in Tallahassee, Fla., on Thursday, Dec. 10, 2009. (AP Photo/Tallahassee Democrat, Bill Cotterell)

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Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul told a gathering of officials from Ohio that the GOP needs to be more welcoming to people who disagree with core GOP tenets. "We're going to have to be a little hands off on some of these issues … and get people into the party," he said. (Associated Press)

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Rep. Paul Ryan, chairman of the House Budget Committee, was leaned on by Speaker John A. Boehner to persuade GOP lawmakers to temporarily back off the spending cuts they had asked for in any increase to the debt ceiling. (Associated Press)

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President Obama, during a White House news conference Monday, said GOP threats to hold the line on the nation's borrowing are "irresponsible." Republicans hope the debt limit debate can be used to make Democrats address the deficit. (Associated Press)