CNN "CNN Newsroom" - Filibuster Rule and Military Sexual Assault

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WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Senate Democrats have now pulled the trigger on what's called the nuclear option. And in a dramatic and historic move just moments ago, the Senate voted to change the rules of the United States Senate, making it easier to end filibusters. The Senate majority leader, Harry Reid, say his took the action because of Republicans blocking President Obama's nominees. Republicans, however, call it a power grab and a smoke screen to shift focus away from Obamacare.

Let's discuss what's going on. Republican Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky is joining us from Capitol Hill.

We just heard Harry Reid make the case for this historic decision. I want to get your reaction. Go ahead, Senator.

SEN. RAND PAUL, (R), KENTUCKY: I think what we really need is an anti-bullying ordinance in the Senate. I mean, now we've got a big bully. Harry Reid says he's just going to break the rules and make new rules. It's never been done this way before. Typically, you have to have a two-thirds vote to change the rules and there has to be consensus and there's tradition. But he's breaking the rules to get his way. Meanwhile, we have a bill right now, we have several amendments lined up, but he's disallowing amendments. He's got to have everything his way. He's got to control everything. This is more about them trying to control the agenda and shift it away from Obamacare than it is anything else.

BLITZER: He makes the point that you, the Republicans, have blocked the nominations of three potential judges on the U.S. District Court of Appeals in Washington, D.C., for no reason other than you don't want the president to have these nominees in place. They would be influential judges for many years to come. These are lifetime appointments. And he says this is totally unfair on the Republican part.

PAUL: Well, it's untrue what he's saying because, frankly, the argument we're using is the same argument that he and the Democrat minority argued in 2006 when they said the case load for the D.C. Circuit has dropped so precipitously that what we really need is to transfer judges to other circuits that are busier, and that's what we offered to do, which is a compromise. But what he's saying is, I'm in charge here, I'm a bully, and I'm going to get my way or I'm going to change the rules. And he had to actually break the rules in order to change the rules. Never been done. He's breaking with hundreds of years of precedent to do this. Frankly, in doing so, he's causing more discord and disharmony here, and there will be more dysfunction, I think, because of it.

BLITZER: Well, let's talk about that for a moment because you've been trying to work with Democrats, for example, Kirsten Gillibrand, the Democratic Senator from New York State, to change the rules as far as sexual assault in the United States military. There's a coalition, you, some other Republicans, some other Democrats -- you've got some opposition from John McCain and other, they don't want to change the rules. They want commanders still to be in charge, not military lawyers or prosecutors. Will this decision by Harry Reid and the Democrats, to change the rules on confirmation of nominees affect your cooperation, for example, with Senator Gillibrand?

PAUL: You know, it won't, my cooperation. I'm very supportive of Senator Gillibrand's amendment, which would give sexual assault victims more justice. I'll continue to fight for that.

But I'll tell you, it is complicated in the sense only way amendments come forward here is if you have an open enough process. One person can object and the whole thing's scuttled. But the reason people object because they're not allowed to introduce amendments people in their statement are interested in. So right now we have a very tight and closed process. We've got one guy in charge of the Senate and, basically, he's become the dictator of the Senate. He's going to bend and break rules until he gets his way, but he's also not going to let any amendments come from the minority. So we have a really tight ship up here but then that good things, like Senator Gillibrand's amendment, may get cast aside, not because of me, but because they won't allow an open process of debate and amending.

BLITZER: What do you say to Senator McCain who disagrees with you on changing the rules of the U.S. military in dealing with sexual harassment or sexual assault cases?

PAUL: I have a lot of family members in the military and I don't doubt any of their motives or any of the generals' motives but I just think it's more fair if you've been a victim of sexual assault or rape that you don't have to tell your boss about it, you tell authorities about it. In the military, this would be lawyers and judges that are trained in dealing with sexual assault and rape. 85 percent of them are going unreported. The military's been given three decades to fix the problem. I don't doubt their motives but it hasn't worked. So we need to try something new.

And to me, if it were my daughter in the military and were a son, whoever, they were abused, they should be allowed to report this, not to their boss who may go drinking with one of the abusers, but to an independent commission that doesn't know any of parties and looks at the facts objectively.

BLITZER: I know you and -- I think Senator Ted Cruz is with you on this as well, is that right?

PAUL: Yes.

BLITZER: You have an interesting coalition of a lot of liberal Democrats, conservative Republicans on this sensitive issue. You think it's going to pass, what you want? You think you have the votes?

PAUL: It's very close. Right now, if Senator Reid would let it pass with 50 votes, it would. It's got probably 55, 56, with three or four votes hanging in the balance. We probably are going to have to get to 60, though. I don't know if we make 60 or not.

BLITZER: Thanks so much, Senator.

I want you to know, I want all of our viewers to know, getting a statement from the White House. The president will make a statement to the American people from the White House briefing room in about 10 minutes or so, 15 minutes, 1:55 p.m. eastern. The president will go into the briefing room and deliver a statement. The White House not saying what that statement is going to be about. Maybe it's about the so-called nuclear option, maybe it's something about Obamacare, maybe it's about something involving Iran, a nuclear deal maybe with Iran or troops in Afghanistan. Lots of issues on the president's agenda right now. We'll see if he just makes a statement, answers reporters' questions.

Let me thank Senator Rand Paul for joining us.

Senator, thanks very much.

PAUL: Thanks for having me, Wolf.

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