The U.S. House of Representatives failed to pass a reauthorization of Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), the post-9/11 wiretapping law that often captures communications from Americans.
The vote failed 218-198, with 19 Republicans joining the vast majority of Democrats in the House to vote against it. Seven Democrats voted in favor, along with most Republicans. Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries signaled earlier this week that Democrats would not vote for the bill as President Donald Trump continued to act recklessly with U.S. national security.
The main sticking point for those opposed to reauthorizing 702 is the recent announcement that Bill Pulte will soon be serving as acting Director of National Intelligence. Pulte has no national security experience, something that’s required by law for someone to hold that position.
Pulte has been serving as head of the Federal Housing Finance Agency during Trump’s second term and is perhaps best known for recommending that the U.S. Department of Justice open investigations into New York Attorney General Letitia James and Federal Reserve board member Lisa Cook over supposed mortgage fraud.
The investigations have been widely seen as nothing more than a campaign of retribution against Trump’s perceived political enemies. And Democrats, along with 19 Republicans, want to see someone else in the role of Director of National Intelligence.
Pulte is scheduled to take over the role on June 19 as its acting head, and Trump has pledged to appoint someone else for the role more permanently. Trump reportedly wants Pulte to conduct mass firings of people at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence who are perceived as disloyal.
“We can’t let them extort us,” Trump said of the wrangling over 702 and Pulte, according to PBS News.
Seven Democrats voted in favor of the reauthorization, including:
- Rep. Henry Cuellar of Texas
- Rep. Donald Davis of North Carolina
- Rep. Jared Golden of Maine
- Rep. Vicente Gonzalez of Texas
- Rep. Josh Gottheimer of New Jersey
- Rep. Susie Lee of Nevada
- Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez of Washington
Some Republicans have tried to fearmonger about what might happen if Section 702 isn’t renewed, pointing to high-profile events this summer that could be targets of terror attacks. This Sunday, for instance, the White House is hosting a UFC cage match, an event that seems torn from a movie like Mike Judge’s 2006 satire of American culture, Idiocracy.
Even if the Democrats succeed at getting Pulte pushed aside, there are still questions of whether Section 702 should be extended, given it’s frequently used to spy on Americans. Sen. Ron Wyden, a Democrat from Oregon, had proposed a five-week extension of 702 to work on reforms in the interim. Republicans opposed that compromise.
“Every day that Section 702 is in effect without reforms is a day that Americans’ rights are under threat,” Wyden said in a statement to Gizmodo.
“If there is going to be an extension of these authorities, there needs to be some guardrails or at least some transparency that would allow Congress and the American people to understand the abuses that have taken place and the need for reforms,” Wyden continued. “My bill would not change surveillance powers at all. Republicans are apparently willing to let this key surveillance authority expire to continue their cover-up of ongoing FISA abuses.”
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