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Legislative Action Status
Comparison of different legislative approaches to FISA 702
Primary Sources
House approves short-term extension of key surveillance law after ...
The House agreed early Friday morning on a short-term extension of a critical foreign surveillance program after GOP leaders suffered a stunning middle-of-the-night defeat in their attempt to renew it on a longer term basis. Republican leaders believed Thursday night they had struck a deal with conservative holdouts who harbor deep and longstanding concerns that a key piece of the warrantless surveillance law known as Section 702 infringes on Americans’ privacy rights. But in a pair of after-midnight votes, more than a dozen rank-and-file Republicans rejected the long-term reauthorization plan on the floor, which was the result of days of tense negotiations among leadership, lawmakers and the White House. The law allows authorized US officials to gather phone calls and text messages of foreign targets, but they can also incidentally collect the data of Americans in the process. Senior national security officials have for years said the law is critical for thwarting terror attacks, stemming the flow of fentanyl into the US and stopping ransomware attacks on critical infrastructure. Civil liberties groups on the left and the right, meanwhile, argue the surveillance authority risks infringing on Americans’ privacy. The deal in Congress would have extended the nation’s spy powers for five years with some changes to the program. Instead, Speaker Mike Johnson and his team were forced to pivot at the last minute to a short-term patch after two embarrassing floor defeats on the long-term plan. Rep. Andy Ogles, one of the Republicans who bucked leadership, vented as he left the floor after 1:30 a.m. ET, “Sh*t amendment. Sh*t rule.” The measure to reauthorize FISA through April 30 now goes to the Senate for passage. The program is set to expire in three days. The Trump administration had all week thrown its support behind a clean extension, with President Donald Trump repeatedly imploring Republicans on social media this week to back an 18-month reauthorization. According to a White House official, Trump held a meeting with about a dozen GOP holdouts on Tuesday. A day later, the president called on Republicans to “UNIFY” in a Truth Social post, stressing that reauthorization is needed to “protect our Troops.” “Our Military Patriots desperately need FISA 702, and it is one of the reasons we have had such tremendous SUCCESS on the battlefield,” Trump said in the post. But those negotiations were not enough to win over some of the GOP’s privacy hawks, sever...
House votes to briefly extend warrantless surveillance law amid GOP ...
Democracy Dies in DarknessTrump officials say the program is vital to national security, but skeptics — including some Republicans — have stonewalled its reauthorization without changes to protect civil liberties.April 17, 2026 at 9:27 a.m. EDT38 minutes agoThe U.S. Capitol. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images) and House lawmakers voted overnight Friday to briefly extend an expiring warrantless surveillance program, after a restive wing of the Republican caucus refused to go along with Speaker Mike Johnson’s push to reauthorize the controversial law.
House Votes to Extend Expiring FISA Surveillance Law for 10 Days
The law, a major section of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, or FISA, is set to expire on Monday. The House bill would push that off until April 30, creating more time for negotiations.
House approves short-term extension of surveillance law in blow to ...
3 hours ago ... The decision to extend a warrantless security law until 30 April came after 20 Republicans worked with House Democrats to defeat attempts to pass five-year ...
