“I think it’s an important tool,” he said. “We see it’s not just post-9/11 — we’ve seen it around the country and around the world: real challenges, real threats, real potentials out there. I certainly don’t want to be in the position that France is in where they’re now saying, ‘What could we have done?’ “

He did say he preferred the Senate-passed USA Freedom Act over nothing.

“I just think going forward, it’s another example of the failure of this president to lead,” he said. “I hope in the future we’ll re-establish the Patriot Act.”