Congress Punts FISA Reauthorization Another Six Weeks

Congress temporarily extended a spy tool granting the U.S. government the ability to surveil its citizens’ communications Thursday before it was set to expire at midnight.

The legislation punts the decision on long-term reauthorization of Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) to June 12, or approximately six weeks from publication. The House voted 261 to 111 in favor of the extension late in the afternoon, with 166 Republicans voting in favor and 26 against. Among Democrats, 94 voted yes while 85 voted no. The Senate voted in favor of punting the measure Thursday via voice vote before the House passed it, Politico reported. The move comes after President Donald Trump called for a “clean extension” of Section 702 on April 15 (RELATED: Republicans Poised To Allow Continued Unfettered Government Spying On American Citizens)

Under Section 702, the government can gather and search U.S. citizens’ data without a warrant if they had contact with noncitizens beyond America’s borders who the government was targeting. It assists with tracking foreign intelligence, dangers via cyber and terrorist activities, which has led to Americans’ data being collected as a byproduct.

FISA Section 702: Congress passes short-term surveillance program extension just before deadline https://t.co/9vSYAen3zk

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The FBI carried out over 200,000 queries of U.S. citizens’ information under the program in 2022, a 2023 Office of the Director of National Intelligence report found. Trump had previously opposed the FISA program for years, calling on lawmakers to “KILL FISA” while accusing the government of spying on his campaign in a 2024 post to Truth Social. The president argued that extending the program was vital for the U.S. military’s effectiveness in posts in March and April, citing the war with Iran in the former.

The temporary extension comes after the House cleared a bill Wednesday containing a three-year extension but included a measure on digital currency, a move Senate Majority Leader John Thune called “dead on arrival,” according to Politico. He and House Speaker Mike Johnson held closed-door talks on a short-term extension Wednesday, the Republican leader in the senate said Thursday. The Senate has been crafting a three-year extension bill with some similarities to what the House passed, the outlet reported.