The White House said Friday that the ongoing “feud” between Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Sen. Rand Paul is just the latest in a long line of Kentucky conflicts, dating back to the famous Hatfield-McCoy battles of the late 1800s.
Mr. McConnell and Mr. Paul, both Kentucky Republicans, have found themselves on opposite sides of a key debate about national security and civil liberties, and the Obama administration was quick to highlight the apparent rift between the two men.
“I would say that there is a pretty long history in the commonwealth of Kentucky of pretty heated feuds going all the way back to the Hatfields and McCoys. And the fact is there seems to be a feud right now between the leader of the United States Senate, Mitch McConnell, a native of Kentucky, and Sen. Paul,” White House press secretary Josh Earnest told reporters. “Unfortunately, the victim of that feud right now is the amount of risk that’s facing our national security and legislation that would protect the privacy and civil liberties of our people.”
Mr. Paul has been a chief opponent Mr. McConnell’s efforts to push through the Senate a blanket extension of Patriot Act powers, which would allow the government to continue collecting bulk phone data and carry on with other types of snooping and surveillance. Mr. Paul favors greater reform of government surveillance programs and stronger protections for personal privacy.
Current Patriot Act powers expire at midnight Sunday, and the White House has called on the Senate to act quickly. Mr. Earnest again excoriated Mr. McConnell and said he should call the Senate back to Washington and pass the USA Freedom Act, legislation that would sustain most Patriot Act powers but would stop the government from collecting bulk phone data.
The House already has passed the bill.
Mr. McConnell’s office says senators are working on solutions and the chamber will be back in session Sunday.
• Ben Wolfgang can be reached at bwolfgang@washingtontimes.com.
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