The House of Representatives rejected a proposal to extend Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), which expires on Friday.

The proposal would have extended the surveillance law until July 2.

In a 218-198 vote, the legislative chamber rejected the measure.

Seven Democrats voted in favor of the proposal, while 19 Republicans voted against it.

“Thank goodness. Clean reauthorization of the unconstitutional FISA 702 program failed in the House. I’ll post the roll call when it’s available,” Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) commented.

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POLITICO has more:

But a Democratic uproar over President Donald Trump’s decision to tap political ally Bill Pulte as acting director of national intelligence tanked any chances for passage. The extension — put on the floor under a fast-track method that required a two-thirds-majority vote — failed to garner even a simple majority, winning the support of only seven Democrats.

Nineteen Republicans also voted to reject a punt of Section 702, which allows U.S. intelligence agencies to spy on targets abroad without a warrant. Surveillance under the program also sometimes captures communications with Americans, and some lawmakers in both parties want to put safeguards on how that material is searched.

The House is not expected to vote again until June 23, effectively ensuring Section 702 will expire for the first time since it was enacted in 2008.

Many Hill Republicans believe, despite the congressional failure, the Trump administration can and will continue to operate the program, possibly under a forthcoming executive order. But tech providers could mount legal challenges to the program if it expires, and national security officials fear that could temporarily limit visibility into surveillance targets under the law.

“Reforming FISA is critical to protecting the Fourth Amendment rights of the American people. As global threats continue to grow, we must protect the constitutional rights our country was founded on while giving our intelligence community the tools it needs to identify terrorists, hostile regimes, and foreign adversaries before they reach American soil. We can keep our nation safe without sacrificing the liberties that make America worth defending,” Rep. Mark Harris (R-NC) said.

“Unfortunately, at the eleventh hour, congressional Democrats have walked away from the conversation, going so far as to lead the effort to vote down a well-negotiated, bipartisan, three-year extension of FISA 702,” Senate Republicans said in a statement.

“As World Cup matches kick off across the United States, do my colleagues truly wish to elevate a difference about who should temporarily lead an increasingly marginalized agency over a vital intelligence program that has contributed to saving the lives of thousands?” it added.

The Hill shared further:

Asked after the vote if he would bring the House back from recess to vote on FISA again, Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) asked, “What would be the point?”

“We passed a three-year extension on April 29. It is sitting in the hopper over there as a live bill. Just now, I attempted to pass a short term extension for three weeks, clean extension, no changes to the law, just to make sure that the people are not subjected to great harm, and the Democrats — 199 of them — voted against it and applauded themselves as they left the building,” Johnson said. “What would be the point of me going through this exercise over and over? The House has done every single thing.“

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Johnson needed a two-thirds vote to pass the legislation under a fast-track process. He faced a dynamic also difficult within a GOP conference, where many members have also demanded reforms to the spy program.

House Judiciary Chair Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), a former FISA 702 critic, had framed the bill during Wednesday night’s debate as “three weeks to continue to hammer it out” so the powers don’t go dark.

But Democrats in both the House and Senate — where an extension under the same timeline also appears doomed to fail — say they won’t approve a 702 extension that would be available to Pulte, who Trump said will take the post June 19. A plan to fast-track a short extension in the Senate similarly fizzled on Wednesday after Democrats indicated they would object.

 

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