Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) was forced to cancel a procedural vote to extend a key government surveillance authority on Wednesday as a band of GOP privacy hawks threatens to sink the measure without a commitment to reforms.
The postponement of the procedural rule vote on a “clean” extension of Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act is a blow to GOP leaders, who were hoping to get a deal across the finish line ahead of an April 20 deadline to reauthorize the program.
Johnson told reporters that GOP leadership is “working through some final details” with holdouts.
Members of the House Freedom Caucus, which often causes trouble for leadership, have been vocal in their opposition to extending the program without reforms that build on the 2024 changes.
When asked if there will be amendments tacked onto the FISA extension, Johnson said: “Just wait and see. I can’t really project all that yet.”
Earlier on Wednesday, Johnson, who was previously pushing for a “clean” extension of the spy program, said he was discussing the possibility of “minor modifications to the bill” with hardliners. But as an afternoon vote inched closer with no deal coming to fruition, Johnson was forced to scrap plans for the afternoon vote.
The speaker told the Washington Examiner that “different ideas” have been floated on how to reform Section 702, which allows warrantless wiretapping of noncitizens overseas. Among those under discussion are additional restrictions on search queries and enhanced penalties if there’s a violation.
But GOP leadership is arguing that changes made in 2024 are sufficient to safeguard the privacy of Americans who get caught up in the foreign surveillance and is pressing for a final House vote before the authorities lapse on Monday.
Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-LA) told reporters that leadership hoped to find an agreement that did not force the legislation to be sent back to the House Rules Committee, which voted to advance a clean extension of FISA on Tuesday evening in a party-line vote.
“We’re still working through some final pieces of what could hopefully be an agreement to get it done, so we don’t have to go back to the Rules committee,” Scalise said. “We can just amend the rule that they moved out yesterday. We’ll do that on the floor.”
The Wednesday impasse marked the second time Johnson has been forced to push back a vote to reauthorize FISA, as he was forced to do so in March due to hardliner opposition.
Johnson can only lose two GOP votes on the floor, given his slim control of the House. Some Democrats are expected to vote for final passage, but procedural steps are typically cast along party lines.
Coming out of a Wednesday morning conference meeting, GOP holdouts appeared open to striking a deal on FISA, with House Freedom Caucus Chairman Andy Harris (R-MD) saying it was “possible” an agreement would be made.
Rep. Ralph Norman (R-SC) was noncommittal about whether he would support the rule, which is the first hurdle the legislation must pass on the House floor, telling the Washington Examiner, “We’ll see what the progress is.”
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Rep. Andy Biggs (R-AZ) told reporters he hopes leadership does not bring the legislation to the floor until “we’ve had a chance to work out the issues.”
Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL) has also threatened to vote “no” on an extension to the program unless elements of a voter integrity measure, called the SAVE America Act, are included.
The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court reapproved the spy program in March, allowing the surveillance powers to continue operating until March 2027, even if Congress does not strike an agreement over the authority.
