Paul said he did not warn McConnell before starting what he deemed a filibuster, but McConnell aides played down the speech, saying it did not delay consideration of the trade bill, which passed a final vote Friday evening.

But Paul’s maneuvering afterward most certainly went against McConnell’s wishes. With Paul leading the objections to a short-term extension of the existing legal authority for the NSA program, it highlighted McConnell’s tactical missteps in delaying consideration of the surveillance program and undermined any attempt he might have made to blame its potential expiration on Democrats…

There are other signs that relations between McConnell and Paul have become strained. According to Democratic aides, Reid approached McConnell late Friday night to ask about the possibility of moving up consideration of surveillance legislation by an hour — something that would require Paul’s consent.

But McConnell refused to ask Paul to accelerate the vote, the aides said, so Reid asked a Democratic ally of Paul’s on surveillance reform, Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon, to approach him and ask for the accommodation. (Stewart said that it was Republican floor staff, not Wyden, who secured Paul’s consent to move up the votes.)