Sen. Rand Paul on Sunday made his case against the effort to renew domestic spying authorities, in a five-minute speech that he almost wasn’t allowed to give.
After initially objecting to letting Paul speak, Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., finally relented, allowing Paul to rail against the government’s decision to unknowingly collect bulk phone data from millions of people.
“I’m not going to take it anymore. I don’t think the American people are going to take it anymore,” Paul said.
Paul said Obama administration officials lied about the existence of the program, until the truth came out. “The head of the intelligence agency lied to the American people, and he still works here,” he said.
“We should be upset. We should be marching in the streets and saying, he’s gotta go,” Paul said.
Most other senators are hoping to somehow extend the government’s surveillance authorities before they expire at the end of Sunday. Paul’s opposition may force them to expire, however, and force the Senate to approve them later tonight.
