Congress passes short-term extension of warrantless spy powers

Update, 7:00 p.m., Thursday, April 30:

The U.S. House of Representatives voted 261-111 today on a 45-day extension of Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), a key American spy power. The short-term extension allows negotiations to continue on Section 702 of FISA, which was set to expire at midnight. Before the extension passed, the Senate sent the bill back to the House Thursday afternoon—rejecting a proposed three-year extension from Wednesday that had included a central bank digital currency (CBDC) ban. The CBDC ban—which Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D. has called a “poison pill”—would prohibit the Federal Reserve from issuing sovereign digital currency directly to individuals. The bill now goes to President Donald Trump, who supports a full reauthorization of Section 702 and is expected to sign the extension.

Original post, Wednesday, April 29:

Following two hours of vote negotiations, the House of Representatives adopted a measure 216-210 on Wednesday to proceed with consideration of a key American spy power set to expire on Thursday. The lapsing legislation involves a 2008 amendment to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) called Section 702 that allows for warrantless collection of foreign intelligence by the U.S. government.

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., tried to pass Section 702 of FISA earlier this month with no reforms. Now, after a series of unsuccessful overnight votes, a short-term extension from its original April 20 deadline, and two days of a Rules Committee hearing, a revised version of the legislation is on the table. But without the addition of warrant protections it is unclear whether a bipartisan coalition of privacy-focused lawmakers will pass longer-term reauthorization of the surveillance tool.

Here’s what you need to know about the situation:

What is the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act? FISA was established in 1978 to provide guardrails and structure for the surveillance of foreign agents within the United States. The original law included warrants that were labor-intensive to obtain and narrowed surveillance to the most important targets. Over time, with the dawn of the internet and increasing national security concerns, FBI field agents and Department of Justice officials began questioning the arduous process of gaining a warrant.

Where do the “spy powers” come in? Section 702, while controversial, is not the first warrantless surveillance program. Within weeks of the 9/11 attacks, President George W. Bush’s once-secret Stellar Wind program and the congressionally approved USA Patriot Act both expanded intelligence surveillance. But Stellar Wind faced backlash from top officials in the Justice Department and FBI who threatened to resign over the warrantless surveillance of American data, which they believed to be illegal. In 2008, lawmakers adopted Section 702 as an amendment to its predecessors. Where the USA Patriot Act authorized domestic surveillance targeting, Section 702 specifically allows law enforcement agencies to collect data from non-U.S. persons without a warrant if they are outside the United States. This system allowed the National Security Agency, the FBI, and the CIA to gather the information of foreign individuals they believed to be communicating relevant intelligence details, and it has also been documented collecting Americans’ data.

What reforms are on the table? In 2008, when Section 702 received congressional approval, legislators inserted a clause that required Congress to periodically reauthorize the legislation. Since its inception, Section 702 has survived three formal reauthorizations, all intended to assess how well it was serving the intelligence mission and protecting civil liberties. In its most recent reauthorization in 2024, Section 702 received 56 reforms. So far during the current reauthorization process, six provisions have been added to Section 702. The proposed update aims to prevent law enforcement from intentionally collecting data from U.S. persons, establishes more oversight of FBI employees accessing intelligence information, and expands criminal penalties for violators of procedures, among other modifications. During Monday’s House Rules Committee hearing, Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon, D-Pa., proposed additional legislative guardrails, citing alleged abuses of Section 702 in the surveillance of American protesters, donors to congressional campaigns, presidential advisers, lawmakers, and even women on dating apps via backdoor searches. Additional proposed reforms include requiring the government to obtain a court-ordered document before accessing Americans’ data from the Section 702 database and preventing the U.S. government from buying Americans’ information from data brokers.

Why does it matter? Section 702 of FISA has implications for both national security and constitutional protections. Its reauthorization is a matter of importance on both sides of the aisle. Rep. Scanlon on Monday called Section 702 “one of the most important tools that we have to prevent terrorism and to keep Americans safe.” Moments earlier, Rep. Trent Kelly, R-Miss., touted a similar message, saying, “We cannot survive as a nation and the threats are genuine and numerous if we allow 702 to go dark.” If the House of Representatives cannot agree on a reauthorization of Section 702 by Thursday, it will likely issue short-term extensions as politicians continue to negotiate. If the House remains at an impasse, Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., has indicated the House will consider a 60-day FISA extension, according to a Punchbowl News reporter. Even if the law expires, intelligence agencies can legally operate the program up to a year longer.

What does the White House think? Last week, President Donald Trump signed a short-term extension of FISA Section 702 after Congress pushed the expiration to the end of the month. In an April 15 social media post, Trump, a previous critic of Section 702, doubled down on his support, writing, “I am willing to risk the giving up of my Rights and Privileges as a Citizen for our Great Military and Country! Our Military Patriots desperately need FISA 702, and it is one of the reasons we have had such tremendous SUCCESS on the battlefield.” House Speaker Mike Johnson’s most recent Section 702 proposal would renew the legislation with reforms for three years. But, without an amendment ending warrantless searches, it is unclear whether the bill will be able to get enough support to pass both chambers.