On Friday, the House voted in favor of reauthorizing a critical U.S. spy program that is deemed essential for national security.
Lawmakers voted to renew Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, which was set to expire on April 19, through 2026, in a vote of 273 to 147.
The bill won’t be sent to the Senate immediately.
After the FISA bill was passed by the House, Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., expressed her objection to its passage. Luna then made a request for a vote on the motion to reconsider the legislation. As a result, the FISA bill cannot proceed to the Senate at this time. The House will have to vote on tabling the motion to reconsider the vote next week before the bill can move forward.
Section 702 permits the U.S. government to gather electronic communications of non-Americans situated outside the country without a warrant. This provision has faced criticism from certain lawmakers on both sides of the political spectrum and civil liberties organizations due to its potential for inadvertently collecting data on Americans who have contact with the individuals under surveillance.
The attempt to include a warrant requirement for accessing data from Americans narrowly failed in a close vote of 212 to 212.
The proposal received backing from both far-right Republicans and progressive Democrats, who believed that it was crucial to safeguard the privacy of Americans. Nevertheless, intelligence officials and the White House cautioned that implementing such a mandate would severely impede the program, rendering the United States “blind” to valuable intelligence used to identify potential terrorist threats and other national security risks.
The FISA reauthorization faced uncertainty earlier this week when hard-line Republicans rebelled and caused a routine procedural vote on the matter to fail. However, it ultimately passed with overwhelming bipartisan support.
In a surprising turn of events, 19 Republican hard-liners voted against party leadership in Wednesday’s vote. This unexpected outcome followed a last-minute message from former President Donald Trump, who expressed his strong opposition by posting on his social media platform: “KILL FISA.”
After facing a setback, House Republicans gathered on Wednesday evening and Thursday to regroup. In a vote of 8-4, the House Rules Committee advanced the FISA bill on Thursday night.
The bill made changes that seemed to satisfy conservative hard-liners by extending the reauthorization of the FISA program for two years, instead of the original proposal of five years.
Rep. Matt Gaetz, a Republican from Florida, expressed that this adjustment would be a victory for Trump if he emerges victorious in the November elections.
On Thursday, Gaetz expressed his gratitude for the positive response to some of our requests.
“We have provided President Trump with an opportunity to take action. The original version of this bill would have postponed reauthorization until after President Trump’s term. Now, President Trump has the chance to address the system that has affected him more than any other American,” he stated.
Virginia Representative Bob Good expressed his support for reducing the timeframe from five years to two years, stating that it is a positive change.
“The shorter timeframe provides an opportunity for the next Congress to reassess and ensure that the legislation is truly effective,” stated Rep. Michael Burgess, a Republican from Texas.
According to Gaetz, Johnson has provided him with “absolute assurance” that the House will vote on a privacy bill from Rep. Warren Davidson, R-Ohio, next week.
House Majority Whip Steve Scalise confidently predicted that the bill would pass, noting that its approval would be a significant victory for Johnson. Over the past six months, Johnson has faced challenges from the party’s right flank, with Rep. Majorie Taylor Greene posing a potential threat to his speakership.
Scalise emphasized the need for progress, stating that “We will continue to forge ahead, and it is imperative that the Senate fulfills its responsibilities” regarding FISA.