Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) yielded the floor at 12:40 a.m. EST on Thursday, March 7 after continuing his filibuster of the confirmation of John Brennan as CIA Director for nearly thirteen hours.
During his “talking” filibuster, which originally began as a one-man stand against the Obama administration’s refusal to state clearly that it would be unconstitutional to use drones to kill U.S. citizens on U.S. soil if they did not pose an imminent terrorist threat, Paul drew national attention and support across party lines.
Paul cited, as one of his reasons for stopping, the need to use the bathroom. Traditionally, the rules of the Senate do not permit a “talking” filibuster to be sustained if the Senator conducting the filibuster leaves the chamber. He expressed regret that he had not broken the late Sen. Strom Thurmond’s record of over 24 hours, but declared that the effort–in which won support from Senators of both parties–had been worth the effort.
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