[h=3]By SIOBHAN HUGHES[/h] WASHINGTON—Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D., Nev.) moved Wednesday to end debate on the nomination of John Brennan to serve as head of the Central Intelligence Agency. But his plan to reach a deal with Republicans for a final confirmation vote as soon as today was blocked, at least temporarily, as Sen. Rand Paul (R., Ky.) took to the Senate floor shortly before noon to filibuster the nomination.
Mr. Paul expressed anger with the Obama administration after U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder said in a letter Tuesday that the U.S. has authority to carry out drone strikes in the U.S.
Mr. Brennan, President Barack Obama's top counterterrorism adviser, won the approval of the Senate Intelligence Committee Tuesday on a 12-3 vote. Despite the lopsided tally, he has faced resistance from some Republicans who have used the nomination as a way to protest the Obama administration's policies on targeted killings of Americans suspected of terrorism and its response to the September attack on the U.S. diplomatic mission in Benghazi, Libya.
Republicans have been especially frustrated with the information provided by the Obama administration, complaining that too little has been disclosed.
Sen. Paul began his filibuster shortly before noon Wednesday—an unusual tactic in a Senate that no longer relies on traditional filibusters, in which a single senator ties up the Senate floor by speaking for hours on end. He zeroed in on Mr. Holder's assessment that the U.S. has authority to carry out drone strikes in the U.S. against American citizens linked to terrorism.
"Were this a Republican president, I'd be here saying exactly the same thing," Mr. Paul said. "No one person, no one politician should be allowed to judge the guilt, to charge an individual, to judge the guilt of an individual and to execute an individual. It goes against everything that we fundamentally believe in our country."
Clarifying an earlier comment by Mr. Brennan in which he didn't rule out the use of domestic drone strikes, Mr. Holder wrote, "It is possible…to imagine an extraordinary circumstance in which it would be necessary and appropriate under the Constitution and applicable laws of the United States for the President to authorize the military to use lethal force within the territory of the United States."
Mr. Reid had acted on Wednesday in order to force a vote on Mr. Brennan; under that procedure, a vote would occur later. Senate Democrats believe they have enough support to overcome the 60-vote hurdle needed to bring Mr. Brennan's nomination up for a vote. But a Senate Democratic aide said that Democrats are also seeking an agreement with Republicans that would allow a vote as early as Wednesday.
Three Republicans on the Intelligence Committee voted against Mr. Brennan on Tuesday, including the committee's top Republican, Sen. Saxby Chambliss.
"There were some inconsistencies in his presentation before the committee and I think we've got to have a stronger trust relationship with the CIA than what I felt like Mr. Brennan could bring," the Georgia senator said. Still, Mr. Chambliss said he expected Mr. Brennan to be confirmed.
Write to Siobhan Hughes at [email protected]
Mr. Paul expressed anger with the Obama administration after U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder said in a letter Tuesday that the U.S. has authority to carry out drone strikes in the U.S.
Mr. Brennan, President Barack Obama's top counterterrorism adviser, won the approval of the Senate Intelligence Committee Tuesday on a 12-3 vote. Despite the lopsided tally, he has faced resistance from some Republicans who have used the nomination as a way to protest the Obama administration's policies on targeted killings of Americans suspected of terrorism and its response to the September attack on the U.S. diplomatic mission in Benghazi, Libya.
Republicans have been especially frustrated with the information provided by the Obama administration, complaining that too little has been disclosed.
Sen. Paul began his filibuster shortly before noon Wednesday—an unusual tactic in a Senate that no longer relies on traditional filibusters, in which a single senator ties up the Senate floor by speaking for hours on end. He zeroed in on Mr. Holder's assessment that the U.S. has authority to carry out drone strikes in the U.S. against American citizens linked to terrorism.
"Were this a Republican president, I'd be here saying exactly the same thing," Mr. Paul said. "No one person, no one politician should be allowed to judge the guilt, to charge an individual, to judge the guilt of an individual and to execute an individual. It goes against everything that we fundamentally believe in our country."
Clarifying an earlier comment by Mr. Brennan in which he didn't rule out the use of domestic drone strikes, Mr. Holder wrote, "It is possible…to imagine an extraordinary circumstance in which it would be necessary and appropriate under the Constitution and applicable laws of the United States for the President to authorize the military to use lethal force within the territory of the United States."
Mr. Reid had acted on Wednesday in order to force a vote on Mr. Brennan; under that procedure, a vote would occur later. Senate Democrats believe they have enough support to overcome the 60-vote hurdle needed to bring Mr. Brennan's nomination up for a vote. But a Senate Democratic aide said that Democrats are also seeking an agreement with Republicans that would allow a vote as early as Wednesday.
Three Republicans on the Intelligence Committee voted against Mr. Brennan on Tuesday, including the committee's top Republican, Sen. Saxby Chambliss.
"There were some inconsistencies in his presentation before the committee and I think we've got to have a stronger trust relationship with the CIA than what I felt like Mr. Brennan could bring," the Georgia senator said. Still, Mr. Chambliss said he expected Mr. Brennan to be confirmed.
Write to Siobhan Hughes at [email protected]