WASHINGTON — A Republican senator and tea party favorite from Kentucky used an old-style filibuster lasting nearly 13 hours to take control of the chamber and block Senate confirmation of John Brennan’s nomination to be CIA director.
Sen. Rand Paul ended his filibuster Thursday shortly after midnight,but Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell,also a Kentucky Republican,said he would continue to oppose Brennan’s confirmation and resist ending the debate on President Barack Obama’s nominee to lead the spy agency.
Speaking hours later on the Senate floor,McConnell said Paul deserves an answer from Attorney General Eric Holder on whether the Obama administration has authority to use lethal force against a suspected terrorist who is a U.S. citizen.
“It simply doesn’t have that right,and the administration should just answer the question,” McConnell said. “There is no reason we cannot get this question answered today,and we should get this question answered today. Frankly,it should have been answered a long time ago.”
The Obama administration has said it has not conducted such operations inside U.S. borders,nor does it intend to. Paul and backers said that wasn’t good enough. They wanted the White House to rule out the possibility of them happening altogether.
Read More at OfficialWire . By Richard Lardner.