Paul opposes Yellen’s nomination to head the Fed, but said he would get out of the way if the Senate agreed to hold a vote on his legislation to fully audit the central bank. If not, he’s prepared to slow the process as much as possible. “We’ll try to slow it down or stop it as much as we can,” he said. “We’ve told them that we will allow it to move forward and expedite it if they give us a vote on ‘Audit the Fed.’”

Sen. Rand Paul likes ruining Christmas. He wanted to ruin Christmas for the millions of long-term unemployed , saying extending their benefits would be a "disservice" to them. Now he wants to ruin Christmas for his fellow senators , saying that he will force the Senate to use the full 30 hours of debate time on Janet Yellen's nomination to the Federal Reserve unless he gets a vote on his bill to fully audit the Fed.Nice use of the royal "we" there, Rand. He can't actually stop the nomination, he doesn't have the votes. So all he can do is be a thorn in the side of all of his colleagues (Ted Cruz has apparently decided to retire from that role after the whole shutdown debacle) by keeping them in Washington for as long as humanly possible. Given that dynamic, Reid should give him his vote. Good luck to him in getting 60 of his fellow senators, who he has effectively taken hostage, to get his bill to a final vote.

On the other hand, given that whole unemployment benefits thing, having their Christmas ruined is exactly what the Senate deserves.