A powerful surveillance tool backed by the intelligence community is scheduled to expire Friday after the House failed to pass an extension and left town for 12 days. It would be the first time Congress has allowed Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act to lapse since the law passed in 2008.
Section 702 grants the government powers to spy on foreign nationals living abroad as part of counterterrorism efforts without requiring warrants. Congress has struggled for months to reach a deal that placates privacy hawks on both sides who demand restraints they say are necessary to prevent the law from being abused, arguing there are insufficient guardrails on the government's sweeping up private information about Americans.
What the Left Is Saying
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said Democrats would not vote to reauthorize Section 702 if it is placed in the hands of Bill Pulte, Trump's pick to serve as acting director of national intelligence. "Pulte's got to go. The DNI role is too important," Schumer said. "He cannot be there — no ands, ifs or buts. No matter what else they do."
Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., an outspoken privacy hawk, has said there will not be a long-term FISA Section 702 renewal without guardrails on warrant requirements and location tracking. "The path to 60 votes, which is the ultimate objective here, is tied to reforms," he told reporters.
Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., called Pulte a "huge national security risk." "I am frankly less worried about what he might do to 702 and more worried about him getting keys to the 18 intelligence agencies and his complete disregard of confidential information at the mortgage industry," Warner said.
Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., said he is "absolutely frightened by the possibility that FISA would expire" but argued all Trump needs to do to secure reauthorization is keep the power out of the hands of a "political hack" like Pulte.
Rep. Jim Himes of Connecticut, the top Democrat on the Intelligence Committee, acknowledged Jay Clayton's nomination could help but said timing mattered. "I have known and respected Jay Clayton for decades," he said. "Had this nomination been made a week ago, lots of pain might have been avoided."
What the Right Is Saying
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., accused Democrats of playing politics with national security. "We did everything within our power to try to ensure that this statute does not expire, and the Democrats are using it as a political hostage now," Johnson said Thursday. "They are willing to jeopardize the safety and the security of the American people to make a cheap political point."
Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb., insisted that expiration would be dangerous. "Fifty percent of our intelligence comes from FISA. That would be bad," Bacon said. "And we have stopped terrorism attacks from 702. Without it, we would have had many more people killed. It's a terrible buffoonery, a disgrace of our country that we could let this drop because of partisanship."
Bacon recommended that Trump change course and keep Pulte away from the national intelligence director's office to pave a way to renew FISA Section 702. "If you want to get FISA voted on, you can't put him in. Put somebody that has intel experience," he said.
Last week, President Donald Trump disrupted already fragile negotiations for a long-term renewal by tapping Pulte as acting DNI. Pulte is a Trump ally with no intelligence background known for targeting Trump critics with mortgage fraud investigations. After the failed House vote, Trump announced he would nominate Jay Clayton to be the next permanent DNI. Clayton, a federal district judge in New York and former chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, is well respected even by Democrats but would need Senate confirmation.
What the Numbers Show
On Thursday, the House failed to pass a short-term extension of FISA Section 702 through July 2 by a vote of 198 to 218. The measure fell far short of the two-thirds requirement needed to pass under the fast-track process used by GOP leaders.
Nineteen Republicans joined 199 Democrats to vote against the extension. Just seven Democrats voted for it.
The Senate also tried and failed to fast-track a renewal of the FISA surveillance power.
According to an NYU Brennan Center for Justice report cited by Wyden's office, FISA court certifications for surveillance authority were approved in March and will remain valid through next March even if Section 702 lapses this week. The report said companies would still be legally obligated to comply with directives to turn over targets' communications data.
Wyden noted that most FISA powers will remain in effect until 2027 even if the program lapses, meaning a temporary expiration would not immediately shut down intelligence operations.
House Republicans adjourned with no plans to return to session until June 23.
The Bottom Line
The lapse of Section 702 marks an unprecedented moment for U.S. surveillance law, though experts say its immediate impact may be limited by existing court certifications and legal obligations on telecom companies to comply with directives.
The core dispute centers on trust: Democrats have conditioned their support for any renewal on removing Pulte from a role overseeing the intelligence community, while Republicans argue Democratic opposition amounts to holding national security hostage for political gain.
With Congress out until June 23, the debate will resume when lawmakers return. Whether Clayton's eventual confirmation or continued pressure on Trump to remove Pulte changes the math remains to be seen. The next test will come in the Senate, where 60 votes are needed and reforms tied to warrant requirements could prove a sticking point.