Rand Paul’s “Filibuster”

Senator Rand Paul finally called it a night after spending nearly eleven hours on the Senate floor Wednesday to argue against the renewal of the Patriot Act. At issue is a provision which allows the bulk collection of data by the National Security Agency. Supporters say the NSA program is a useful tool in the fight against terrorism, while Paul argues the program is being used for other purposes. Although Paul called his marathon speech a filibuster, it technically fell short of Senate rules, as Senators were considering a bill unrelated to the Patriot Act at the time. The Patriot Act is set to expire June 1st.