White House Responds To Rand Paul On Drone Strikes: 'The Answer Is No'

White House press secretary Jay Carney said Thursday that Attorney General Eric Holder has sent Sen. Rand Paul another letter clarifying the administration's position on drone strikes on U.S. soil.

"The President has not and would not use drone strikes against American citizens on US soil" who are not engaged in hostile activity, Carney said.

Carney's comments came the day after Paul's marathon, nearly 13-hour filibuster of CIA Director nominee John Brennan. Carney read directly from the letter that Holder transmitted to Paul, which he said had come within the last half hour.

"Does the President have the authority to use a weaponized drone to kill an American not engaged in combat on American soil? The answer is no," Carney said.

Carney also chided Paul for entering into a debate that ended up veering away from whether Brennan was qualified to be the nation's CIA Director.

"First of all, this debate has nothing to do with the qualifications of John Brennan," Carney said.