Sen. Angus King, I-Maine, criticized Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., for “overdoing” his opposition to the Patriot Act over the weekend, and for using the Senate floor as a way to push his presidential campaign.
“I think he’s overdoing it, but I think there is a larger issue here … as we lead into this coming year,” King said Monday on CNN. “We’ve got half the U.S. Senate, it seems, running for president and we are going to have some important deadlines coming up — debt ceiling, budget bills, appropriation bills. And if somebody who’s running for president can essentially take over the floor of the U.S. Senate and make this kind of publicity deal, it’s going to really impede our ability to get the people’s work done.”
King sits on the Armed Services, Intelligence and Budget committees.
“I think it’s [Paul’s opinion] a genuine one … but I frankly think he’s overstating it significantly and I just worry about the implications of every two or three months we’re going to have somebody running for president taking over in this way, and it’s not productive,” King added.
Sunday night, Paul was able to stall the passage of the USA Freedom Act, at least for a few days, and thus prevent renewal of key provisions of the Patriot Act, including one that allows the NSA to collect Americans’ phone records in bulk.
Paul was able to take advantage of the decision by Senate leaders to act on renewing these provisions with just hours left before they expired. His decision not to agree to an immediate reauthorization allowed him to claim a temporary victory, and forced the Senate to use a few more days before it can renew and amend these surveillance tools.
Paul’s opposition to the Patriot Act has been met with criticism from both sides of the political aisle, as well as the White House. Paul, from Kentucky, launched his presidential campaign in early April and has made ending the NSA’s mass surveillance a cornerstone of his campaign.
