On Thursday afternoon, 90,000 fans will crowd the stands of the Estadio Azteca in Mexico City to watch the kickoff of the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Over the next month, millions of Americans and international fans will travel to watch their teams compete, culminating in the final match in New Jersey on July 19. Appallingly, their safety and security may very well be in jeopardy if the unimaginable happens and Congressional Democrats permit a critical intelligence authority to lapse on Friday night simply over a temporary presidential appointment.
As a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, I have seen firsthand how critical Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act is to keeping Americans safe. FISA 702 authorizes the United States intelligence community to gather intelligence against certain foreigners overseas through their electronic communications. As a foreign intelligence tool, the government is prohibited from using FISA 702 to target U.S. nationals or anyone in the United States.
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Since Congress passed FISA 702 in 2008, the IC has relied on the authority for critical intelligence requirements. According to the IC, almost two-thirds of all intelligence briefed to the president of the United States last year contained information available only through FISA 702 collection, and a quarter of all National Security Agency intelligence reports contained FISA 702 information. FISA 702 is also instrumental in stopping terrorists and drug traffickers.
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Given the unique threats posed by bad actors to the World Cup — with matches across the United States, Mexico, and Canada — it is important for the American people to understand the fraught environment we will be stepping into over the next month. While the majority of FISA 702 successes remain classified due to their sensitivity or ongoing operations, I am able to share a few declassified examples of how this critical tool has been used in recent years.
In the past several years, FISA 702 enabled the disruption of a terrorist attack against a Taylor Swift concert in Vienna, Austria. Tens of thousands of people bought tickets to this event, just as tens of thousands of fans have bought tickets for World Cup matches.
Earlier this year, in the Mexican state of Jalisco, FISA 702 was instrumental in providing actionable intelligence to partners as they conducted a raid on El Mencho, the leader of one of the most powerful and murderous drug cartels in the world. Jalisco is home to the Estadio Akron stadium in Guadalajara, which will host World Cup matches.
Finally, FISA 702 has been used to disrupt cyberattacks on critical energy and transportation infrastructure — just like those relied on by millions of die-hard soccer fans over the coming month.
The enemies of the United States recognize that the World Cup is a sensitive target. While the U.S. government has been working with partners in Mexico and Canada to increase security around matches and fan festival sites, the best defense is intelligence collection that enables authorities to disrupt threats and attacks well before they get to the front entrance of a stadium. Through targeting the electronic communications of violent terrorists and hardened cartel killers, FISA 702 is uniquely valuable in enabling the timely disruption of these types of threats.
Unfortunately, at the eleventh hour, congressional Democrats have walked away from the conversation, going so far as to lead the effort to vote down a well-negotiated, bipartisan, three-year extension of FISA 702 that would have ensured critical collection occurred while incorporating additional transparency measures and privacy guardrails.
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As World Cup matches kick off across the United States, do my colleagues truly wish to elevate a difference about who should temporarily lead an increasingly marginalized agency over a vital intelligence program that has contributed to saving the lives of thousands?
I hope that, before it is too late, they will see the light and work with Senate Republicans to extend this vital authority and continue to work together to protect Americans and our homeland.
Todd Young represents Indiana in the U.S. Senate and is a member of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence.
