Meeting privately before the Sunday night PATRIOT Act blowup, Republican senators spent the better part of an hour berating an absent Rand Paul.

But one man remained quiet during the anti-Paul vent session: Mitch McConnell.


The Senate majority leader went on the Senate floor later and flashed anger at unnamed detractors spreading “disinformation” about the surveillance law. Paul had to be among the culprits McConnell had in mind; multiple times he looked directly at Paul as he spoke. But unlike other GOP senators, McConnell didn’t call out his fellow Kentuckian by name.

That wasn’t by accident.

Paul caused McConnell no shortage of embarrassment the past two weeks by tripping up his agenda and allowing key sections of an anti-terrorism law to lapse just months into his reign as Senate leader. But the pair has spent five years forming an unlikely alliance — they couldn’t be more different stylistically, and on some key issues ideologically — and neither seems prepared to allow this low point to become the end point in their relationship.

“We have a difference of opinion on this, on the policy, but I’ve always found him to be very professional and not to hold a grudge and not take things personally,” Paul told reporters outside the Capitol on Monday.

McConnell, for his part, told POLITICO he‘ll continue to back Paul for president, though the Republican leader isn’t doing much beyond offering his official nod.

The two men had a cordial chat on the Senate floor Monday, hoping to defuse the tension — even joking about a humorous video that Kentucky GOP gubernatorial candidate Matt Bevin made about his relationship with McConnell, sources said.

None of that’s to say things are peachy between the two of late.

In private conversations the past few weeks, McConnell, his staff and fellow GOP senators tried over and over to mollify Paul so that the PATRIOT Act’s key surveillance authorities wouldn’t expire as they did at midnight Sunday. But the GOP leaders miscalculated Paul’s unwillingness to keep the law afloat even for a week or two to work out a deal.

On the issue of government surveillance, which Paul has made a centerpiece of his campaign, his ties to McConnell didn’t count for as much as some might have thought going in.

“I think Mitch is very frustrated,” Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) said Sunday.

The McConnell-Paul bond has been more about political survival than ideological kinship. Indeed, when asked in an interview last summer whether Paul’s foreign policy views would be a liability in a presidential bid, McConnell shook his head and wouldn’t say a word.

After Paul defeated McConnell’s handpicked candidate in the 2010 Senate primary, the GOP leader quickly sought to forge ties with the first-time candidate, dispatching key aides, fundraising prowess and expertise into the state to help the young Kentuckian win the general election. In the Senate, McConnell helped advance some key Paul initiatives and handed him important committee assignments to build his legislative portfolio, including a spot on the Foreign Relations Committee.

Paul returned the favor last year, helping McConnell with skeptical tea party types in his primary contest and stumping alongside the leader during the general election. This year, McConnell was critical in urging members of the Kentucky state GOP to seek a change to party rules that could allow Paul to simultaneously run for president and Senate.

As Paul announced his presidential run, McConnell announced he would support him. But the GOP leader plans to do nothing else — no fundraisers, no surrogate appearances.

The libertarian-leaning Paul has made repealing the PATRIOT Act a critical part of his effort to stand out from a crowded field. While most Republicans like McConnell argue the law is critical to ward off terrorist threats, Paul believes the PATRIOT Act gives law enforcement unconstitutional tools to invade privacy — namely the bulk phone data collection program that Edward Snowden exposed two years ago.

The libertarian-leaning Paul has made repealing the PATRIOT Act a critical part of his effort to stand out from a crowded field. | AP Photo

Paul’s stand has also forced the expiration of two other key authorities: one to surveil “lone wolf” actors who aren’t directly tied to terrorist groups, and another to maintain “roving” wiretaps to monitor suspects who quickly switch cellphones.

What caught McConnell by surprise was Paul’s refusal to allow even a short-term extension for those two, less controversial authorities.

“I thought we all wanted the same thing, which was to keep the country safe,” Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn (R-Texas) said about the impasse. “I was a little surprised.” (He also pointed the finger at two Democrats — Martin Heinrich of New Mexico and Ron Wyden of Oregon — who joined Paul in the effort.)

As the Senate is now moving to approve a House-passed bill, Paul has sought to drag out the process this week. But McConnell is strictly enforcing Senate rules to keep the schedule as tight as possible. GOP leaders have put out the word to the rank and file not to give Paul any more time to debate. And Republican senators said in interviews they will be happy to comply with that order, allowing the Senate to wrap up the bill on Tuesday afternoon over Paul’s objections.

Democrats say much of the current mess is of McConnell’s own making. Had he moved earlier on the surveillance matter instead of taking up a trade bill, they argue, Paul wouldn’t have been able to run the clock through the deadline.

On Sunday, McConnell relented and agreed to advance the House-passed bill called the USA Freedom Act, despite his own opposition to that measure. Paul also opposes that plan, but for another reason: He believes it goes too far in allowing the National Security Agency to snoop on private citizens — and he’s refused to let the Senate quickly move to final passage.

Democrats were more than gleeful to highlight the rift.

“You need a psychotherapist to analyze that, I’m just a senator,” said Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), when asked about the duo’s relationship. “I’ve seen rivalry between senators of the same party, but this kind of reaches a new level.”

Despite their apparent attempt to play nice, Paul on Monday blocked another attempt by McConnell to finish work on the USA Freedom Act — even as it was apparent that Paul will soon run out of stalling tactics. Passage of the bill is expected Tuesday.

Paul said Senate Republican leaders wouldn’t let his proposed amendments come forward for a vote because they feared “I might win.”

He continued Monday to push for those changes, but by then he had lost all leverage with GOP leaders. “So, that’s how power is used in Washington. Power is used to used to block people you disagree with,” Paul said. “I don’t hold the reins of power in Washington.”

One Senate Republican who has been apprised of the efforts to win over Paul said the Kentucky Republican has been constantly moving the goalposts in his demands. “It’s been like trying to stick jello on the wall,” he said.

While aides to McConnell and Paul insist there’s no personal animosity between two men, others said the GOP leader’s sharply worded floor speech Sunday night spoke for itself.

“I’m sure Sen. McConnell is not real pleased with what happened,” said Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah). “But you can’t let anybody’s approach to things cause you to dislike them or hate them.”

Indeed, the beef between Kentucky’s two GOP senators was becoming something of an attraction for Capitol denizens. As Rep. Brett Guthrie (R-Ky.) was giving a tour of the Capitol on Monday, he stopped and made an offhand quip about the showdown between his two home-state colleagues.

“We’ve got our two senators going at it,” Guthrie said, gesturing to the Senate floor. “Fun times.”