Updated May 1, 2026 at 7:02 AM ChST
Hours ahead of a Thursday night deadline, Congress has passed a second temporary extension of a key surveillance program for 45 days after failing to strike a deal on substantial reforms.
The extension, which passed the House by a vote of 261 to 111, comes after Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., struggled for weeks to win over privacy-minded Republicans. GOP defections tanked five-year and 18-month extensions earlier in the month.
The program, Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), allows U.S. intelligence agencies to intercept the electronic communications of foreign nationals located outside of the United States.
Some of the nearly 350,000 targets whose communications are collected under FISA 702 authority each year are in touch with Americans. Their calls, texts and emails can also end up in the trove of information available to the federal government for review.
For almost two decades, a group of lawmakers from both parties has sought reforms to the program, including a requirement for specific court approval before federal law enforcement or intelligence agents are allowed to search for and review an American's information in the FISA database. They argue a warrant requirement would be in line with the privacy protections in the fourth amendment to the Constitution.
They failed to secure that provision
Top intelligence officials said a warrant requirement would inhibit the efficacy of the FISA tool and endanger national security. Stewart Baker, former National Security Agency general counsel, testified before Congress on the subject in January.
"Saying, 'oh, you need a separate warrant if you've got a separate interest in getting access to information we already collected for intelligence purposes,'" Baker said, "we shouldn't make that mistake with something as important as things like terrorism or espionage."
But while privacy hawks acknowledge the tool is a key part of U.S. national security infrastructure, they argue that, as written, it lacks necessary protections for Americans.
"With FISA, multiple aspects are true at once," Rep. Brad Knott, R-N.C. wrote on X last week.
First, "FISA is undeniably useful in protecting America against foreign attacks," and second, "If not adequately checked, FISA powers will facilitate the violation of American citizens' Fourth Amendment rights," Knott said.
The fight over those changes — responsible for weeks of turmoil — ultimately resulted in a separate proposal with limited modifications that passed the House on Wednesday. It was dead on arrival in the Senate because Republican hardliners attached an unrelated bill banning a hypothetical government digital currency. Less than 24 hours after the House vote, the Senate sent back their 45-day stopgap instead. It was the second extension for the FISA 702 program this month.
The doomed House proposal included reforms that would require federal law enforcement to seek approval from attorneys before targeted reviews of Americans' information, a written justification submitted to the Office of the Director of National Intelligence for each query and criminal penalties of up to five years in prison for intentional misuse of the tool.
Republicans lawmakers now have six weeks to reach a consensus on the path forward, which could include working with Democrats on a more comprehensive reform deal.
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