House GOP leadership is struggling to win over GOP privacy hawks as lawmakers race to extend a powerful government surveillance program ahead of Thursday’s deadline.
The House Rules Committee on Tuesday postponed consideration of a rule teeing up a chamber-wide vote on an extension of Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) as Republicans remain sharply divided over the program.
The plan would renew the spy law for three years while enacting new penalties for abuses of FISA searches. The measure, however, stops short of incorporating a warrant requirement desired by GOP privacy hawks, who want the adoption of tougher privacy guardrails.
The postponed committee action raises doubts about whether House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., can pass an extension of the law before it lapses on April 30.
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The mounting obstacles to passing a FISA renewal in the House could also allow the Senate to act first and force the lower chamber to swallow whatever it passes. The Senate is scheduled to hold a procedural vote on a three-year extension bill later on Tuesday.
Democrats on the House Rules Committee blasted Republicans for indefinitely postponing consideration of the measure after punting a previously scheduled Tuesday morning meeting to take up the procedural measure. The panel initially adjourned on Monday evening after an hours-long session to allow for more time for Republicans to reach a deal.
“After waiting around all night for Republicans to make a deal — with themselves — on a procedural rule for the week, Democrats showed up to the Rules Committee for an 8 a.m. meeting,” Rep. Jim McGovern, D-Mass., wrote on social media. “Unsurprisingly, when we showed up, we were told there is still no deal.
“Their chaos is only matched by their incompetence,” he added.
The stalled rule also delays consideration of a budget blueprint to fund immigration enforcement and a sweeping bill authorizing agriculture and nutrition priorities known as the farm bill, which GOP leadership is hoping to pass on the floor this week.
House conservatives, who voted down two previous proposals offered by GOP leadership, have so far withheld their support for reauthorizing Section 702 absent reforms.
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The spy tool allows the government to surveil foreigners abroad who use U.S. platforms even when those communications involve Americans. A mix of conservatives and progressives have long advocated for changes to the program to force intelligence officials to obtain a warrant prior to reviewing Americans’ data.
Several conservative lawmakers on Monday criticized leadership’s proposal as a minor reworking of the original 18-month extension bill that failed on the House floor.
“Really what we’re doing is taking existing law improvements based on two years ago, making some improvements on penalties and on some FISA transparency… but not going further with respect to warrant protections for American citizens on warrantless surveillance,” Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, a key member of the House Freedom Caucus (HFC), said during debate on the measure in the House Rules Committee.
HFC members have sought to add a warrant requirement and language banning a central bank digital currency (CBDC) to the bill — policies they say are critical to winning their votes.
“Even as we are working to right the wrongs and abuses of FISA, it is important we permanently ban what would be the ultimate surveillance tool against our fellow citizens, a central bank digital currency,” Rep. Michael Cloud, R-Texas, told Fox News Digital in a statement.
The Trump administration has pushed for a clean reauthorization of the program, citing the law’s critical national security role. Proponents of the spy law have hailed its ability to gather intelligence that has stopped potential terrorist attacks and drug trafficking.
Rep. Warren Davidson, R-Ohio, a notable GOP privacy hawk, offered his support for the three-year FISA extension during a post on social media last week.
“Collectively, this set of reforms provides robust privacy protections for American citizens. Congress should bank this win and reauthorize Section 702,” Davidson said. “Then, we should swiftly begin gutting the unmitigated surveillance state left growing unchecked during these 702 fights.”
House Democratic leadership previewed their objections to Republicans’ FISA reauthorization plan on Monday. Widespread Democratic opposition means Johnson could afford to spare just a handful of GOP defections during a critical procedural vote that could occur as early as Tuesday afternoon.
“This surveillance mechanism could be abused by the likes of individuals like Kash Patel and the acting attorney general,” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., said during a news conference Monday. “These people have weaponized the criminal justice system, and they simply cannot be trusted to protect the privacy and the civil liberties of the American people.”
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