Sen. Rand Paul, a Kentucky Republican, told conservative radio and television host Dan Bongino that restrictions intended to prevent the spread of COVID-19 are really about "conditioning" people to "submit to government."

Paul discussed Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer's charge that Republicans who voted against Joe Biden's vaccine mandate on private employers are "anti-science" and "anti-vaccine."

Schumer compared those against the mandate with flat-earthers during his remarks on the Senate floor.

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"We cannot go back to the days when people were driven by wild theories," Schumer said. "Some of the anti-vaxxers here in this chamber remind me of what happened 400 years ago, when people were clinging to the fact that the sun revolved around the Earth. They just didn't believe science. Or 500 years ago, when they were sure the Earth was flat."

Paul pushed back against Schumer's comparison, saying the independent scientists that went against the government were the ones who discovered the Earth was round.

"So the danger is when you let science be controlled by government, or by one sort of monolithic individual like Fauci. It really doesn't have anything to do with science. Science usually discovers the truth eventually. But when science is dictated by the government, that's when you get, you know, flat-earthers," Paul explained.

Bongino responded in agreement with the Kentucky senator, saying there doesn't seem to be an "endpoint" to growing government restrictions related to COVID-19.

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"It's not going to stop until we stop it. There doesn't seem to be an endpoint here," Bongino said.

"I don't think it's been about science for a long time," Paul said. "It's really been about conditioning the American individual to submit to government. And you're right, it never ends, the goalposts will continue to change. And ultimately, more and more of your healthcare will be controlled."