However, while Trump’s nomination of Clayton has been more warmly received, Democrats are demanding that Pulte not take over as acting DNI, arguing he is not qualified to do so, before they pass any extension of the surveillance tool. Trump has refused to back down from his interim pick of Pulte.

The partisan impasse over Pulte comes on top of intraparty divisions amongst Republicans over the spy tool’s authorities, with hard-line conservatives demanding reforms and a warrant requirement for U.S. citizens’ data to be attached.

Between Democrats withholding their support, especially in the Senate, where any measure needs Democratic support to break the 60-vote filibuster threshold, and hard-line Republicans’ opposition to the program, the writing was on the wall for a congressional lapse of Section 702. Sens. Tom Cotton (R-AR) and Chuck Grassley (R-IA) told Secretary of State Marco Rubio in a letter last week to prepare for a “potential significant gap in foreign intelligence collection.”

But while Congress failed to pass an extension, the collection of data under the program won’t stop completely, as the program’s authorities were renewed by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court until March 2027. The court authorization means the program’s operations will continue.

Still, the gap in congressional approval comes as the World Cup and America250 celebrations have begun. The World Cup games are expected to draw large crowds of international tourists, and festivities celebrating America’s 250th birthday are taking place throughout Washington.

Advocates of the 702 program worry that without Congress’s authorization, companies currently required to hand over communications to the government could attempt to challenge requests for data in court, possibly causing delays to inquiries.

Top Republicans highlight that more than 60% of the president’s daily intelligence briefing uses information collected under Section 702 of FISA.

“Two-thirds of the president’s daily national security briefing, on average, comes from intelligence we collect in 702, monitoring dangerous terrorists and dangerous people in other parts of the world,” House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) told reporters on Wednesday. “We cannot allow that to go dark.”

Rep. Keith Self (R-TX) rejected the idea that the surveillance tool will “go dark” after the Friday at midnight deadline, citing the court authorization and a 2008 court ruling regarding a preceding statute to Section 702.

“So, it’s not going to go dark,” Self said. “Let’s put that myth to bed.”

The key government spy tool has been criticized in recent years, as U.S. citizens’ communications can be swept into intelligence agencies’ search queries if they are in contact with those individuals. Critics argue the program allows the collection of private citizens’ information without court approval.

Scrutiny over the FBI’s use of surveillance tools was heightened after the 2016 investigation into the Trump campaign’s alleged ties to Russia, of which a 2019 Justice Department inspector general report found significant errors and omissions during the investigation by the intelligence agency.

Congress has been negotiating reforms to pass a long-term extension of the government surveillance program for months and had to pass two short-term extensions this year to keep the program viable, with the House passing three deals, one of which was rejected by the Senate.

The latest failures to pass extensions came this week, when both the House and the Senate rejected GOP leadership’s efforts to pass short-term patches of the spy tool.

On Thursday, the House voted 198-218, with 19 Republicans joining nearly every Democrat against the three-week patch of Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, which allows surveillance of foreign nationals abroad without a warrant. The bill would have needed a two-thirds majority to pass under an expedited process.

In the Senate, Democrats blocked efforts from Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) to pass a short-term measure later in the day.

REPUBLICANS RACE TO CONFIRM TRUMP DNI PICK JAY CLAYTON TO BREAK SPY PROGRAM GRIDLOCK

Now, House lawmakers are gone for a one-week recess, and Democrats are still objecting to a renewal in the Senate because the interim appointment for Pulte has not been withdrawn. With the House out and not scheduled to return until June 23, eyes are on the White House to see whether the president will issue an executive order to extend the program’s authorities, as asked for by members of Congress.

Trump did not commit to issuing an executive order to extend Section 702, saying to reporters on Thursday, “Congress wants me to do it, and let’s see what happens.”

Mabinty Quarshie contributed to this report.