Rand Paul gets his answer
By Carrie Dann, NBC News
After Attorney General Eric Holder submitted a brief letter answering Sen. Rand Paul’s concerns over its drone policy Thursday, the Kentucky lawmaker – with a ding at the White House’s “humiliated” response – says he finally got the answer he wanted.
“Hoo-ray,” the Kentucky senator said upon being read Holder’s letter during an appearance on FOX News.
Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., leaves the floor of the Senate after his filibuster of the nomination of John Brennan to be CIA director on Capitol Hill in Washington, early Thursday, March 7, 2013.
“For 13 hours yesterday we asked that question, and so there is a result and a victory,” he added. “Under duress and under public humiliation the White House will respond and do the right thing.”
After holding forth on the Senate floor for almost 13 hours last night, Paul said that the curt letter from the Department of Justice sufficiently answered the question that fueled his Mr. Smith-style speechifying yesterday, which won him fans from Glenn Beck to Code Pink.
With the lengthy filibuster in the books, Paul had threatened to continue to hold up the nomination of CIA director John Brennan until Saturday morning if he didn’t receive an answer from the Obama administration.
“We’re using the leverage of holding up the vote,” he said on Beck’s show Thursday morning.. "And I can keep [the Senate] here through Saturday and they hate to work on weekends."
The letter from Holder reads: "It has come to my attention that you have now asked an additional question: ‘Does the President have the authority to use a weaponized drone to kill an American not engaged in combat on American soil." The answer to that question is no."
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