Rand Paul Doubles Down: I'll Block Yellen's Fed Nom

Rand Paul says he plans to "delay" Janet Yellen's nomination for Federal Reserve chair, until there's a vote on his Audit the Fed bill, Politico reports. "I don’t think technically you can file a hold until she comes out of committee—but we’re putting people on notice that we will," he says, confirming reports swirling Friday. "We’ve been waiting two years on a vote on the Audit the Fed bill. ... and we’d be happy to lift the hold if we do get a vote." Democrats say it's a pretty pointless publicity stunt—the hold could be overturned with a vote, and even if he was successful, Yellen would likely become acting chair once Bernanke is gone, anyway.

In other Rand Paul related news, Rachel Maddow says she's uncovered another speech the Republican senator appears to have cribbed from Wikipedia. In a March 19 speech, Paul discussed the movie Stand and Deliver, using words that are very, very similar to those in the online encyclopedia, Politico reports. Here's a comparison:

• Paul: "In the area of East LA, in 1982, in an environment that values a quick fix on education over learning, Escalante was a new math teacher at Garfield High School."
• Wikipedia: "In the area of East Los Angeles, California, in 1982, in an environment that values a quick fix over education and learning, Jaime 'Kemo' Escalante is a new teacher at Garfield High School."

(More Rand Paul stories.)