House Democrats pulled a federal surveillance measure from the floor after opposition from both parties doomed passage of the bill.
Majority Leader Steny Hoyer blamed President Trump for calling on Republicans to vote against it, but Democrats control the majority, and they, too, were unable to garner enough votes to clear the measure for Trump’s signature.
“At the request of the Speaker of the House, I am withdrawing consideration of the FISA Act,” Hoyer, a Maryland Democrat, said in a statement Thursday. “The two-thirds of the Republican Party that voted for this bill in March have indicated they are going to vote against it now.”
The measure would have extended several provisions of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. It has attracted bipartisan opposition from lawmakers, but some said the measure did not go far enough to protect the online privacy of the public.
House Democrats hoped to amend the bill to add further protections, but a bipartisan amendment lost the support of key Senate Democrats who said it would still permit the federal government to conduct dragnet collections of the online activity of individuals.
Trump also opposed the bill and urged Republicans to vote against it. Trump and many Republicans say the surveillance laws were abused by the Obama administration to spy on his campaign and transition team.
It’s not clear whether there is enough support to extend current law, which expired in March, temporarily.
Hoyer called opposition to the measure “against the security interest of the United States and the safety of the American people.”
