WASHINGTON — Arizona Sen. John McCain and South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham hit back at Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, a GOP presidential candidate, Wednesday.

In response to being called “lapdogs” for President Obama’s foreign policy, McCain, who burst out laughing as he spoke to reporters said, “I think an unnamed administration official said, ‘Yeah, they’re lapdogs. They’re Doberman Pinchers.’ I’ll let people be the judge as to where there’s anyone, particularly in the administration, that says Lindsey Graham and I are lapdogs.”

The Arizona Republican barked like a dog through his laughter.

“At the end of the day, [Paul’s] record, in my view, shows a foreign policy vision one step behind leading from behind,” Graham told Capitol Hill reporters Wednesday. “And all I can say is that if he’s the nominee, I will support him. But if he’s the nominee of the party, we risk giving up the central issue of the 2016 campaign.”

Graham went on, “I think Sen. Paul’s record on this issue is quite frankly behind that of President Obama.”

TheDC asked Graham about the reported tension between him and Paul last week in New Hampshire.

“We just have differences on foreign policy. We work together on social security and Medicare. It’s just foreign policy we have differences,” the South Carolina Republican said.

New York Republican Rep. Pete King took his own shot at Paul on Wednesday, telling TheDC he would not be announcing that he was mulling a run for the presidency for the ulterior motive of boosting his congressional race prospects.

“If there was any ulterior motive it would be stop Ted Cruz and Rand Paul,” King stated.