House passes FISA renewal in bipartisan vote, putting pressure on Senate before looming deadline

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., talks with reporters at the Capitol in Washington on Jan.7, 2025.(J.Scott Applewhite/AP)

SPEAKER JOHNSON ONE STEP CLOSER TO RENEWING CONTROVERSIAL SPY PROGRAM AFTER CONSERVATIVES FALL IN LINE

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A swath of House conservatives voted against the FISA renewal bill, citing concerns that the measure does not include more stringent privacy safeguards, such as a requirement for intelligence agencies to obtain a warrant before accessing Americans’ data. 

The spy law, considered one of the government’smost powerful surveillance tools,allows the U.S.government to gather intelligence on foreigners abroad who are using U.S.platforms, even when those communications involve Americans.

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“We should all be standing up for the Fourth Amendment,” Rep.Chip Roy, R-Texas, a leading GOP privacy hawk, said during debate on the FISA renewal bill Tuesday.

House leadership attempted to win over some conservative holdouts by adding language permanently banning the Federal Reserve from issuing central bank digital currencies (CBDC) to the FISA renewal bill.

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But Senate Majority LeaderJohn Thune,R-S.D., has warned that the sweetener for privacy hawks will be interpreted as a poison pill in the Senate, where Democrats fiercely oppose a CBDC ban.

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“They know that,” Thune told reporters Tuesday, referring to House Republicans. 

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., has warned House Republicans about sending the upper chamber a FISA renewal bill with a ban on central bank digital currencies attached.(Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

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Johnson has voiced optimism that the upper chamber will take up the House bill without modifications. 

“I speak with Leader Thune all the time.They’re watching this very closely, and hopefully they can process what we send them,� 

“No one, on the Republican side anyway, wants to play around with letting these critical national security tools go unfunded or expire,” he added.“So, I think they’ll move it expeditiously.”

The Trump administration haspressured House Republicans for weeksto back an extension of the spy law, arguing the surveillance authority is too vital for national security to expire.

“This department strongly supports the reauthorization of FISA 702,” Department of War Secretary Pete Hegseth told lawmakers Wednesday.“It is not hyperbole to say many of the most important missions we have executed could not have happened without the intelligence gathered through FISA 702.”

War Secretary Pete Hegseth urged House lawmakers to approve a FISA renewal bill during an appearance before the House Armed Services Committee Wednesday.(Kevin Wolf/AP)

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House Democrats, many of whom have fierce objections to a clean extension of the spy law, voted en masse against the measure. 

“I’m suspicious.The way it’s proposed right now, particularly under this administration,” Rep.Andre Carson, D-Ind.“I was more comfortable when I voted for it in 2024.Under this administration, I’m not as comfortable.”

Just 42 Democratic lawmakers, including Rep.Jim Himes, D-Conn., the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, crossed party lines in support of the measure.

“I’ve seen countless, countless instances where the intelligence obtained through section 702 quite literally saved lives,” the Connecticut Democrat said.“So, given the binary choice between reauthorization and expiration, the responsible choice is reauthorization.”