“I object,” Paul responded. That prompted McConnell to launch his own speech. At times glaring at Paul, the Senate leader blasted what he called “a campaign of demagoguery and disinformation launched in the wake of unlawful actions of Edward Snowden, who was last seen in Russia.” Paul sat at his desk quietly, holding his glasses in his hand.

McConnell never named Paul in his passionate speech, but it was clearly aimed at the man who had been a close political ally — until now.

Other colleagues did criticize Paul by name.

“I don’t stand with Rand on this,” said Sen. Mark Kirk (R-Ill.). “I want to make sure the ability to monitor terrorists continues uninterrupted.”

“I think he’s nestled in with a very large bunch of very radical people – from the left to the right,” said Utah Sen. Orrin Hatch, the president pro tempore. “I don’t know if he feels comfortable being with all those leftists who hate the PATRIOT Act. But he has a right to do what he’s doing.”