Former Speaker Newt Gingrich rallied to the defense of Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) and his talking filibuster on Friday, calling Sen. John McCain's (R-Ariz.) criticism of it "sad."
McCain blasted Paul on Thursday after he held the Senate floor for more than 12 hours to demand an answer from the Obama administration about whether it might initiate drone strikes on American soil. McCain said the filibuster was "ridiculous" and "cheapened" the debate around drones.
But Gingrich (R-Ga.) sided with Paul, saying the filibuster "gave us a case study in what courageous energetic leadership can be — that every member can exercise both in the House and Senate."
Gingrich also praised Sen. Ted Cruz's (R-Texas) sharp questioning of now-Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel during his confirmation hearing, which also drew McCain's ire.
"What I find sad about Sen. McCain’s recent comments both to Ted Cruz, when Ted Cruz was frankly raising legitimate questions and again yesterday with Rand Paul, is, you know, when I first knew John McCain in the House — he was a maverick. In the Senate, for years, he was a maverick," Gingrich said.
"Of everybody I know in the Senate, I don’t know anybody who had a better record of bucking the leadership, doing what he thought mattered, marching to his own drummer. And I think that it’s unfortunate but I think frankly it doesn’t hurt Ted Cruz and it doesn’t hurt Rand Paul — it hurts John McCain. The country is moving on, we’re in a new era, people know that these are legitimate questions."
On Wednesday, Paul held up Brennan's nomination in order to get the Obama administration to say whether it could launch a drone strike against a citizen not engaged in combat on U.S. soil. The filibuster prompted Attorney General Eric Holder to send Paul a short letter saying the president does not have authority to kill non-combatants in America.
