House votes to renew FISA spying tool after earlier Republican revolt
The House voted to renew a powerful surveillance program on Friday, two days after a band of 19 conservative privacy hawks revolted against Republican leadership and blocked the legislation on the floor when their demands were not met.
WASHINGTON — The House voted to renew a powerful surveillance program on Friday, two days after a band of 19 conservative privacy hawks revolted against Republican leadership and blocked the legislation on the floor when their demands were not met.
The vote was 273-147 and was overwhelmingly bipartisan, with both Republicans and Democrats voting in favor of the legislation. Of those who supported the legislation, 126 were Republicans and 147 Democrats. It followed a dramatic vote to narrowly reject an amendment that would have required a warrant for surveillance in more situations.
Earlier Friday, the conservative rebels ended their blockade and allowed the bill to move forward after striking a deal with Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., and his team. Under the agreement, the reauthorization period of the spy powers — known as Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) — would be cut to two years from the original proposed five years.
Republicans said that would give former President Donald Trump, who said this week he wants to “kill” FISA, a chance to make his mark on the law if he wins back the White House.
“We just bought President Trump an at bat,” said Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., a top Trump ally and one of the 19 rebels. “The previous version of this bill would have kicked reauthorization beyond the Trump presidency. Now President Trump gets an at bat to fix the system that victimized him more than any other American.”
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