Rand Paul launched his promised filibuster against the Patriot Act on Wednesday afternoon.
Will he break his nearly-13-hour record from his drone filibuster? Only time will tell!
Hopefully he took his own advice to Ted Cruz, and wore more comfortable shoes than last time. And didn’t drink much water.
I’ve just taken the senate floor to begin a filibuster of the Patriot Act renewal. It’s time to end the NSA spying!
— Dr. Rand Paul (@RandPaul) May 20, 2015
Paul hit the floor at 1:18pm.
“There comes a time in the history of nations when fear and complacency allow power to accumulate and liberty and privacy to suffer,” he said. “That time is now, and I will not let the Patriot Act, the most unpatriotic of acts, go unchallenged.”
Several key provisions of the Patriot Act are set to expire in June. Mitch McConnell and others–including Marco Rubio–are pushing for a clean extension through 2020. Both Paul and Sen. Ron Wyden announced last week that they would filibuster.
“I’m going to lead the charge in the next couple of weeks as the Patriot Act comes forward,” said Paul. “We will be filibustering. We will be trying to stop it. We are not going to let them run over us. And we are going to demand amendments and we are going to make sure the American people know that some of us at least are opposed to unlawful searches.”
Watch the live filibuster here.
