How’s this for a congratulations?

The day after Gov. Chris Christie routed his Democratic opponent for a second term, Sen. Rand Paul rapped him for appearing in television ads funded by federal dollars allocated for Hurricane Sandy recovery.

New Jersey’s Record reports:

At a Senate hearing on the status of Sandy recovery, Paul never mentioned Christie by name, but left little doubt about who he meant when he asked Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan if it was proper to use disaster relief funds for television commercials.

As Donovan started to explain the purposes of the Community Development Block Grant program and how ads could be appropriate if they spur economic activity that reduces the need for future grants, Paul interrupted.

“It gives a little bit of a black eye to something that maybe a lot  of it is going to a good purpose,” Paul said.

“Some of these ads, people who are running for office put their mug all over the ads while they’re in the middle of a political campaign. In New Jersey, $25 million was spent on ads that included somebody running for political office… There might be a conflict of interest here. … That’s why, when people are trying to use taxpayers’ money wisely, they’re offended to see money spent on political ads. You know, that’s offensive.”

For the record, Donovan told Paul the ads are “clearly within the legal boundaries of what Congress has determined the program can be used for.”

Paul’s comments are all the more striking given the timing.  Christie’s enjoying a splash of favorable press coverage in the wake of his gigantic victory and grandiose speech he delivered holding up New Jersey as a model for political success.

Paul and Christie currently occupy the top two positions in The CHASE – The RUN’s rolling rankings of the most likely Republican presidential nominee in 2016.

Follow Dave’s blog at TheRun2016.com