After Rand Paul’s Objections, Patriot Act Lurches Toward Expiration (Updated)

By Niels Lesniewski Posted at 6:44 p.m. on May 22, 2015--Roll Call

Updated May 23, 2 a.m. | The Senate failed to advance even a one-day extension of the Patriot Act surveillance authorities early Saturday, with Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., leading bipartisan objections to Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., in an extraordinary sequence.

The end result is that the Senate will reconvene for legislative business at 4 p.m. on May 31, staring down a midnight deadline to reauthorize the programs in question, including some far less contentious than the bulk data collection that’s gotten most of the attention.

The endgame, meanwhile, stands in stark contrast to the era before Edward Snowden exposed the NSA’s bulk collection programs.

In 2010, the Patriot Act extension took up all of 20 seconds on the Senate floor.

“This week, I stood on the floor for roughly 11 hours in defense of the Fourth Amendment and successfully blocked the renewal of the Patriot Act. We should never give up our rights for a false sense of security,” Paul said in a statement. “This is only the beginning — the first step of many. I will continue to do all I can until this illegal government spying program is put to an end, once and for all.”

The Senate appeared to be lurching toward passing a short-term extension of existing surveillance authorities under the Patriot Act all day. But Paul had indicated on Twitter that he had other ideas.

“Will be seeing everyone overnight it seems. My filibuster continues to end NSA illegal spying,” Paul said. Shortly after that, McConnell said that unless there was a deal, the next votes would be at 1 a.m. Saturday.

After midnight, the Senate first blocked the House-passed and Obama administration backed USA Freedom Act, an overhaul bill that received 338 affirmative votes in the House, in a 57-42, three votes shy of the 60 needed to bring it up for debate, with McConnell leading the effort to kill it.

The Senate then voted to block a straight two-month extension backed by McConnell by an even wider margin, 45-54.


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“Senator Burr’s proposal to plug the so-called ‘holes’ in the USA FREEDOM Act is dead-on-arrival in the House. His bill is not stronger on national security, it is just much weaker on civil liberties. This is nothing more than a last-ditch effort to kill the USA FREEDOM Act, which passed the House 338-88. If the Senate coalesces around this approach, the result will be the expiration of important authorities needed to keep our country safe,” the Wisconsin Republican said in a statement.

Earlier in the day, White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest reiterated the Obama administration’s view that Senate passage of the USA Freedom Act is the only acceptable path.


The endgame, meanwhile, stands in stark contrast to the era before Edward Snowden exposed the NSA’s bulk collection programs.

In 2010, the Patriot Act extension took up all of 20 seconds on the Senate floor.

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