Staff Reports
The House rocked a vote on Friday, making national security hawks cheer and privacy lovers cringe as they reauthorized Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. After months of bickering and foot-dragging, the House finally got its act together and passed the new version of the legislation in a 273 to 147 vote. That’s a win for the national security team, folks!
#BREAKING: House passes FISA renewal capping months of GOP infighting https://t.co/wQoKfAQaRd https://t.co/wQoKfAQaRd
— Washington Examiner (@dcexaminer) April 12, 2024
But hang on, it’s not all smooth sailing. Some lawmakers are grumbling because the legislation doesn’t demand warrants for federal agencies to snoop on data belonging to U.S. citizens. Yep, you heard that right. The House Intelligence Committee and their buddies in the national security sphere are thrilled, but others are not so merry, and they’re letting everyone know it.
The GOP had a tough time wrangling support for this FISA thing this week. There were a bunch of failed attempts, with 19 Republicans crossing the aisle to vote with the Democrats and bring the House to a grinding halt on Wednesday. Luckily, the lawmakers made some changes to the bill, like slapping on a two-year expiry date and promising a vote on Rep. Warren Davidson’s (R-OH) “Fourth Amendment is Not For Sale Act.”
People were really fired up about Rep. Andy Biggs’s (R-AZ) amendment, which would have insisted on warrants for any searches of Americans. But it fell short, with over 120 Democrats and 86 Republicans rejecting the idea. The White House even stepped in to trash-talk the amendment before the vote, calling it “narrow and unworkable,” which really poured some cold water on the whole thing.
Then, just when everyone thought they had it in the bag, former President Donald Trump piped up against the FISA proposal, throwing a wrench into the works for House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA). Oh boy, what a headache!
So, after all that drama, the bill made its way through the House and is now off to the Senate for more votes. If it passes there, it’s landing on President Joe Biden’s desk for a signature. National security hawks are clapping, privacy lovers are grumbling, and the drama continues in Washington. Watch this space, folks!
