Sen Rand Paul speaks 11 hours against Patriot Act renewal and the Designated Hitter Rule

Sen Rand Paul (R-KY) spent most of May 20 talking.

He took to the Senate floor at 1:18 p.m., interrupting a debate on a trade bill, to speak against a reauthorization of the Patriot Act. With the exception of breaks to allow colleagues to speak, he talked, and stood, for nearly 11 hours before yielding the floor just before midnight. His marathon seizure of the Senate came after a week of repeatedly threatening to filibuster a reauthorization of the Patriot Act — a fight he conceded May 18 he cannot win, because he does not have the votes. Sen Paul spoke for about 2 1/2 hours before he got help from Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR), with whom Sen Paul has crafted his planned opposition. The two went back and forth asking each other questions — very, very long questions — about surveillance and the collection of bulk records.

Others who aided Sen Paul were Sens Mike Lee (R-UT), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), Steve Daines (R-MT), Joe Manchin III (D-WV), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Christopher Coons (D-DE), Jon Tester (D-MT), Ted Cruz (R-TX), and Marco Rubio (R-FL).