John McCain calls Rand Paul's stand against the Patriot Act 'a fundraising exercise'

Sen. John McCain
(Image credit: Win McNamee/Getty Images)

GOP senators aren't happy with Sen. Rand Paul's (R-Ky.) successful plan to let key provisions of the Patriot Act expire on Sunday night. In interviews with Politico, some even suggested Paul was taking a hard stance against the NSA's bulk collection of phone records in order to raise more money for his 2016 presidential campaign.

"I know what this is about — I think it's very clear — this is, to some degree, a fundraising exercise," Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) told Politico. "He obviously has a higher priority for his fundraising and political ambitions than for the security of the nation."

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Meghan DeMaria

Meghan DeMaria is a staff writer at TheWeek.com. She has previously worked for USA Today and Marie Claire.