The Washington Post reported Monday that U.S. Sen.

Rand Paul, who is running for president in 2016, is calling on President Barack Obama to end the NSA's bulk data collection of phone records after the Second Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the program is illegal. Paul told NH1 and the Post that "the ruling underscores that President Obama can stop the collection at any point."

The Washington Post reports:

"The ruling justifies what I've said all along. It also sends a message to the president," said Paul, who sued the administration over the program. "The court has now said it's illegal. He should stop it. HE started it by executive order. He can stop it tomorrow if he wanted to."

Paul rocketed to prominence for his stance on privacy and has made stopping the government from meddling in the business of ordinary Americans one of the pillars of his campaign. He has said that he would repeal the NSA's collection of bulk phone data on his first day in the Oval Office, should he be elected.

"The Fourth Amendment says your name has to be on the warrant and you can't put something like 'Mr. Verizon' on the warrant and get ... millions and millions of phone records," he said." - The Washington Post, May 11, 2015

Read the full article here.

Photo Source: AP