Paul considered using a catheter

Sen. Rand Paul on Thursday said he received an “outpouring of support” from congressional colleagues during his nearly 13-hour filibuster, which was so long he considered using a catheter before opting not to.

“I’ve never seen that happen before,” Paul (R-Ky.) said of about 20 House members who arrived during his Wednesday filibuster on the Senate floor, which was designed to halt progress on confirming the White House’s nominee to lead the CIA. “They came spontaneously, nobody called them, they just showed up.”


Paul was speaking on the conservative talk show host Glenn Beck’s radio show on TheBlaze radio network, hours after wrapping up the longest talking filibuster in years, which he invoked to stall confirmation of CIA Director nominee John Brennan. At issue: use of drones to target American citizens on U.S. soil.

( PHOTOS: Highlights from Rand Paul’s filibuster)

“I was pretty amazed by the outpouring of support just up here,” he said, adding that more than a dozen senators also demonstrated their backing during his filibuster. He added, “And the interesting thing is we may not…all be on the same page on drone strikes here, there and hither and yon, but on American soil we came together and said, you know what? We’re not going to do targeted strikes of people not engaged in combat in America.”

As for surviving hours of standing on the Senate floor, Paul said he had considered using a catheter before ruling out that option.

“I did think about it,” Paul said with a laugh, when asked whether he’d thought about using the device. “I’ve put them in before and really decided against it.”

In a later interview with CNN, Paul said the filibuster may have gotten results.

“What we’re hearing from the White House this morning is they may respond to my question,” Paul said. “And if they do, we’re willing to let the Brennan nomination to go forward.”

Paul said a member of his staff and other Republican staffers had heard from White House staffers.

“I’ve never really doubted that maybe the president and I are on the same page,” he said. “But some things need to be explicit. And the one thing that I think needs to be explicit is that this drone killing or targeting program, that you can’t target Americans who aren’t engaged in combat.”

Paul said the filibuster was about setting a precedent, not about attacking Obama. Paul is considered by many to be a possible contender for the GOP’s 2016 nomination — including Beck, who called him the “logical choice.”

“I try to make it less about President Obama and more about, what if someday we elect someone … who will abuse this power,” Paul said to Beck.

The senator, who on Wednesday made references to Hitler, acknowledged that such mentions shouldn’t be made lightly, but didn’t walk back his own name-checking of Hitler.

“And it’s dangerous anytime you use an example of Hitler because everybody thinks you’re overexaggerating,” Paul said. “But Hitler was elected democratically. So democracies can make mistakes, and that’s why you want the rule of law to restrain them.”