A temporary extension of the warrantless surveillance authority fell short in the House after Democrats opposed the measure over Bill Pulte’s acting DNI appointment and some lawmakers continued demanding privacy reforms.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
The House failed Thursday to pass a short-term extension of Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, leaving the warrantless surveillance authority facing expiration Friday.
Speaker Mike Johnson brought the temporary measure to the floor in an effort to extend Section 702 until July 2. The proposal required a two-thirds majority to pass but failed amid opposition from Democrats and privacy-focused lawmakers who objected to renewing the program without changes.
Section 702 allows the federal government to collect communications involving foreign targets located outside the United States. The program can also capture Americans’ data when they communicate with targeted noncitizens overseas. Intelligence officials say the authority is used to track foreign intelligence threats, terrorism and cyber activity, but critics argue the tool allows the government to search Americans’ communications without a warrant.
Democrats said they would not support reauthorization unless President Donald Trump withdrew Bill Pulte as acting director of national intelligence. Trump appointed Pulte to serve temporarily in the role while searching for a permanent nominee.
“Section 702 is a critical foreign intelligence authority, be we cannot in good conscience vote for reauthorization without significant reforms to protect both national security and the constitutional privacy rights of Americans,” Democrats said in a statement. “Bill Pulte has no relevant national security experience. Consequently, his appointment is in defiance of the law that requires the Director of National Intelligence to have ‘extensive’ national security experience. The apparent motivation for his elevation is the demonstrated willingness of Bill Pulte to search government databases for alleged dirt on President Trump’s chosen political enemies.”
Johnson criticized Democrats after the vote, telling reporters in a press gaggle attended by the Daily Caller News Foundation that they were putting Americans’ security at risk to make a political point.
“That is what the current Democrat party stands for,” Johnson said. “They are willing to jeopardize the safety and the security of the American people to make a cheap political point … Their excuse is that they’re upset about a very temporary appointment that the President of the United States has already said will be very temporary, while he searches for and selects a new director of national intelligence, that is an important process, it takes some time, thought, and deliberation.”
“It is detestable, it is dangerous, it is going to jeopardize the safety and security of people,” Johnson continued.
Opposition to the extension was not limited to Democrats. Some Republicans also opposed renewing Section 702 without stronger warrant requirements.
Earlier, a procedural vote to extend Section 702 failed in the Senate after seven Republicans joined Democrats in voting against it. The Republican senators who opposed the motion were Josh Hawley of Missouri, John Kennedy of Louisiana, Mike Lee of Utah, Rand Paul of Kentucky, Rick Scott of Florida, Tommy Tuberville of Alabama and Eric Schmitt of Missouri. Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., was the only Democrat to support advancing the measure.
Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., and members of the House Freedom Caucus have long opposed Section 702 or tied their support to privacy reforms. The House had passed a 45-day extension of the authority April 30 in a 261-111 vote.
Massie and Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., introduced the Surveillance Accountability Act on April 23. The bill would require federal law enforcement to show probable cause before accessing Americans’ private digital data.
Trump urged lawmakers to pass Section 702 in an April 15 statement, though he had previously opposed the program. His administration began pressing lawmakers to preserve FISA authorities without changes in early February, weeks before the United States entered the conflict with Iran on Feb. 28.
Trump had called after the 2024 election to “KILL FISA,” saying it had been used illegally to spy on his campaign. A Department of Justice inspector general’s report found “significant inaccuracies” in FBI applications for FISA warrants targeting a Trump campaign adviser, and the Justice Department later conceded that two of the four orders were invalid.
The failed vote leaves lawmakers with little time to resolve the dispute before Section 702 expires, with national security officials warning of lost intelligence capabilities and civil liberties advocates continuing to demand warrant protections for Americans.
Original article
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