Update (1/17/2018, 2:25pm ET): The Senate broke the filibuster by a vote of 60-38 after just two-and-a-half hours of discussion Tuesday evening.
This limits the debate on the FISA Amendments Reauthorization Act to a maximum of 30 hours.
According to Rand Paul's press liaison it is "highly likely" the vote will occur Wednesday night or sometime on Thursday.
On Tuesday afternoon, a bipartisan coalition of 3 Democrats and 2 Republicans committed to filibustering the FISA Amendments Reauthorization Act of 2017, a bill that effectively expands the warrantless surveillance of American citizens.
This gives Congress about three months to reach a compromise on a new FISA reauthorization bill that will hopefully protect the electronic communications of Americans from warrantless surveillance.
This practice was voluntarily abandoned by the NSA in 2017 after it came under scrutiny by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court.
The FISA Amendment Reauthorization Act passed by the House and under consideration by the Senate removes legal barriers to this practice. »