John Brennan confirmed as CIA chief after Sen. Rand Paul finally gets his answer from the White House on drones after his epic THIRTEEN HOUR filibuster



John Brennan was confirmed by the Senate to lead the Central Intelligence Agency today following Sen. Rand Paul's epic thirteen hour filibuster a day earlier.

The Kentucky Republican demanded an answer over the administration's policy towards using drones on American soil and cleared the way for a vote after the White House responded this afternoon.

Paul sustained himself during the epic performance by eating a candy bar around dinner hour and drinking from a glass of water given to him by a supportive colleague .

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Sore throat: Sen. Rand Paul takes a sip of water during the middle of his 13 hour filibuster trying to block the nomination of John Brennan as director of the Central Intelligence Agency

Dinner time: Paul did not stop speaking while munching on a candy bar around dinner time

Paul was speaking against Brennan's nomination because the Obama administration has insisted it is legal to use drones to kill American citizens on U.S. soil

Later Thursday, Paul said he was 'quite happy' with Attorney General Eric Holder's response that the administration does not think its constitutional to target citizens on American soil.

' I'm disappointed it took a month and a half and a root canal to get it, but we did get the answer,' he told CNN .

Paul said his decision Wednesday to filibuster President Obama's selection of Brennan was a last second one.

' We had no plan and I had the wrong shoes on, my feet were hurting the whole day, he said.

'I would go for another 12 hours to try to break Strom Thurmond's record, but I've discovered that there are some limits to filibustering and I'm going to have to go take care of one of those in a few minutes here ,' Paul joked at the end about his obvious need for a bathroom break.

Brennan was confirmed by a 63-34 vote. Paul was one of the dissenting votes.



Next top spy: John Brennan was confirmed today to be the Director of Central Intelligence Agency following Rand Paul's thirteen hour filibuster

Paul said he might have lost some weight during the grueling session. He only managed to eat some candy from a drawer and was caught on camera munching on the snack.

'My wife said can't you chew with your mouth closed on the floor?

'My feet were hurting by the end of the day. You can't leave the floor and you can't sit down. So you can't use the restroom or do anything like that. I decided to drink very little water and have no caffeine.'

Helping out: Rubio spoke briefly during the filibuster to give Paul a moment to breathe. He quoted from rappers Jay-Z and Wiz Khalifa and from The Godfather

Texas Republican Ted Cruz also quoted from Patton, Shakespeare and read supportive messages people Tweeted

At one point, Sen. Mark Kirk, R-Ill., who walks haltingly with a cane because of a stroke, delivered a canister of hot tea and an apple to Paul's desk, but a doorkeeper removed them.

Paul, who is a doctor, was asked today whether he considered using a catheter to avoid having to stop to use the restroom.

'I did think about it. I've put them in before, but I really decided against it,' he said.



Paul was able to take speaking pauses during the marathon session by letting other senators 'ask questions' and letting them speak.



Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, read Twitter messages from people eager to 'Stand With Rand.' The Twitterverse, said Cruz, is 'blowing up.' And as the night went on, Cruz spoke for longer periods as Paul leaned against a desk across the floor. Cruz, an insurgent Republican with strong tea party backing, read passages from Shakespeare's 'Henry V' and lines from the 1970 movie 'Patton,' starring George C. Scott.

Stoic: Paul is still smiling as he takes his leave from the assembled members of the media And so to bed: Sen. Rand Paul walks to a waiting vehicle as he leaves the Capitol

Not budging: Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky. speaks on the floor of the Senate in an old-fashioned filibuster to hold up confirmation of John Brennan as CIA director

Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, who along with Paul is considered a top contender for the GOP presidential nomination in 2016, also spoke.

Rubio quoted several famous lines from The Godfather, including 'I'm going to make him an offer he can't refuse.'

Rubio, who frequently talks about his love of rap music, also quoted lines from 'modern day poets' Wiz Khalifa and Jay-Z.

At one point, Rubio asked what his colleagues' reaction would be if former President George W. Bush was still in office and claimed the authority to use drones against Americans on U.S. soil.

'That takes me back to another modern day poet, Jay-Z,' Rubio seamlessly transitioned before quoting from the rapper's song, A Week Ago.

'It's funny what seven days can change. It was all good just a week ago.'

Senate Majority Leader, Harry Reid, (D-Nev.), commended Paul's efforts today.

'I have been involved in a few filibusters, as Rand Paul did yesterday. And what I have learned from my experiences in talking filibusters…you need strong convictions but also a strong bladder. It’s obvious Sen. Paul has both,' Reid said.

But not all of Paul's colleagues were appreciative of his efforts.

Sen. John McCain, (R-Ariz)., blasted the filibuster and said Paul was fearmongering on an absurd issue.

'If Mr. Paul wants to be taken seriously he needs to do more than pull political stunts,' the party's nominee for president in 2008 said.

Paul, 50, received intermittent support early on from several other conservative senators holding similar views, plus Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon. He spoke almost continuously for five hours before Majority Leader Harry Reid tried but failed to move to a vote on Brennan.

Rep. Louie Gohmert, a conservative from Texas, stood off to the side of the Senate floor in a show of support. Other well-wishers with privileges to be on the floor shook his hand when he temporarily turned the speaking over to his colleagues.

BEST LINES FROM FILIBUSTER

'I'm going to make him an offer he can't refuse' 'A lawyer with his briefcase can steal more than 100 men with guns can steal' Sen. Rubio quoting from The Godfather 'I would note that your standing here today, like a modern Mr. Smith goes to Washington, must surely be making Jimmy Stewart smile' - Sen. Cruz

'But we in it shall be remembered- We few, we happy few, we band of brothers; For he to-day that sheds his blood with me Shall be my brother' - Sen. Cruz quoting Shakespeare 'I think the technical term for what the Twitterverse is doing right now is "blowing up"' Cruz, while reading Tweets. 'Are you going to just drop a hellfire missile on Jane Fonda? Are you going to drop a missile on Kent State?' 'I think its also safe to say that Barack Obama of 2007 would be right down here with me arguing against this drone-strike program if he were in the Senate' 'I will not sit quietly and let [the president] shed the constitution' Sen. Paul

Dressed in a dark suit, white shirt and red tie, Paul read from notebooks filled with articles about the expanded use of the unmanned weapons that have become the centerpiece of the Obama administration's campaign against al-Qaida suspects. As he moved about the Senate floor, aides brought him glasses of water, which he barely touched. Senate rules say a senator has to remain on the floor to continue to hold it, even though he can yield to another senator for a question.

'No president has the right to say he is judge, jury and executioner,' Paul said.

Not all Republicans were so enthusiastic about Paul's performance. Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said the prospect of drones being used to kill people in the United States was 'ridiculous' and called the debate 'paranoia between libertarians and the hard left that is unjustified.'

Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Mich., the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, echoed Graham. He said it is unconstitutional for the U.S. military or intelligence agencies to conduct lethal counterterrorism operations in the United States against U.S. citizens. Suggesting they can or might, Rogers said, 'provokes needless fear and detracts attention from the real threats facing the country.'

Later in the evening Paul, who is the son of former Texas congressman and libertarian leader Ron Paul, offered to allow a vote on Brennan if the Senate would vote on his resolution stating that the use of the unmanned, armed aircraft on U.S. soil against American citizens violates the Constitution. Democrats rejected the offer.

Held up: Democratic leaders had hoped to hold a final vote by the full Senate to confirm Brennan (pictured) on Wednesday

Speaking to reporters afterwards, Paul, a Kentucky Republican and tea party favorite, appeared cheerful early Thursday morning, but it was obvious from the bags under his eyes, the sheen on his forehead and slumped stance that the epic oration had taken its toll.

He stopped his self-described filibuster early Thursday morning. GOP colleagues who were listening to Paul's closing statement applauded as he yielded the floor.

Paul started just before noon Wednesday by demanding the president or Attorney General Eric Holder issue a statement assuring that unmanned aircraft would not be used in the United States to kill terrorism suspects who are U.S. citizens.

He wasn't picky about the format, saying at one point he'd be happy with a telegram or a Tweet.

The Obama administration has said the federal government has not conducted such operations inside U.S. borders and has no intention of doing so.

'When I asked the president, "can you kill an American on American soil," it should have been an easy answer. It’s an easy question. It should have been a resounding an unequivocal, "No,"' Paul said.



The senator said he recognized that he can't stop Brennan from being confirmed. But the nomination was the right vehicle for a debate over what the Obama White House believes are the limits of the federal government's ability to conduct lethal operations against suspected terrorists, he said.

Reid, D-Nev., said he planned to file a motion to bring debate over Brennan's nomination to an end, if not on Thursday, then Friday or next week. Reid had pushed for a confirmation vote Wednesday. Technically, the Senate had not even started the debate on Brennan's nomination before Paul took control of the floor almost immediately after Republicans successfully blocked a vote on a federal appeals court nominee.

Along with Cruz, Rubio and Wyden, Republican Sens. Mike Lee of Utah and Jerry Moran of Kansas joined Paul briefly three hours into the debate but turned it back to him. Wyden has long pressed for greater oversight of the use of drones. Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., appeared later in the evening to trade questions with Paul.

Never-ending: Paul appears on a television screen in an office at the U.S. Capitol as he spoke for more than 13 hours on the Senate floor in opposition to Brennan's nomination

The record for the longest individual speech on the Senate floor belongs to former Sen. Strom Thurmond of South Carolina, who filibustered for 24 hours and 18 minutes against the Civil Rights Act of 1957. Thurmond took a steam bath before speaking so he would not need to use the restroom.



Holder came close to making the statement Paul wanted earlier in the day during an exchange with Cruz at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, according to Paul.

Cruz asked Holder if the Constitution allowed the federal government to kill a U.S. citizen on U.S. soil who doesn't pose an imminent threat. Holder said the situation was hypothetical, but he did not think that in that situation the use of a drone or lethal force would be appropriate. Cruz criticized Holder for not simply saying 'no' in response.

In a letter sent Tuesday to Paul, Brennan said the CIA does not have authority to conduct lethal operations inside the U.S.

Rand Paul posted this photo to his Facebook page of his mom watching him filibuster

Holder told Paul in a March 4 letter that the federal government has not conducted such operations and has no intention of doing so. But Holder also wrote that he supposed it was possible under an 'extraordinary circumstance' that the president would have no choice but to authorize the military to use lethal force inside U.S. borders. Holder cited the attacks at Pearl Harbor and on Sept. 11, 2001, as examples.

Paul said he did not dispute that the president has the authority to take swift and lethal action against an enemy that carried out a significant attack against the United States. But Paul said he was 'alarmed' at how difficult it has been to get the administration to clearly define what qualifies as a legitimate target of a drone strike.

Brennan's nomination won approval Tuesday by the Senate Intelligence Committee after the White House broke a lengthy impasse by agreeing to give lawmakers access to top-secret legal opinions justifying the use of lethal drone strikes against al-Qaida suspects overseas.

If confirmed, Brennan would replace Michael Morell, the CIA's deputy director who has been acting director since David Petraeus resigned in November after acknowledging an affair with his biographer.

Brennan currently serves as Obama's top counterterrorism adviser in the White House.