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House Stops Johnson-backed FISA Renewal Bill

by Emmitt Barry, Worthy News Correspondent

(Worthy News) – Nineteen privacy-focused House GOP members have halted the progression of a bill, supported by Speaker Mike Johnson, that seeks to renew Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) — a controversial government surveillance tool used by the federal government.

Nineteen privacy-concerned House Republicans, voted against their party’s leadership along with all Democrats, have compelled the GOP leadership to reevaluate their approach to renewing Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, a measure that needs reauthorization every five years.

This development occurred just hours after former President Trump stressed on Truth Social, “KILL FISA, IT WAS ILLEGALLY USED AGAINST ME AND MANY OTHERS.”

There is a documented history of FISA abuses, leading to a consensus on the need for reforms. However, there is disagreement on the specifics of what these reforms should entail.

The defeat of the procedural rule was a significant setback for House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA), especially since rules typically pass along party lines and seldom fail on the House floor. However, House Republicans have repeatedly blocked such rules in this Congress as a method to delay legislation whenever they are at odds with Johnson’s positions.

The Reforming Intelligence and Securing America Act, a compromise between the House Judiciary Committee and the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, seeks to prevent abuses like those reported against Trump and others. The bill measures to restrict access to data collected under Section 702, especially concerning U.S. citizens, and criminalizes the misuse of backdoor loopholes to access Americans’ data improperly. However, conservative opponents of Section 702 contend that the bill falls short of adequately protecting American citizens’ data.

The House Judiciary Committee proposed an amendment requiring U.S. officials to obtain a warrant before examining communications involving Americans, a move met with resistance from Republicans focused on national security.

Drawing an analogy, one GOP lawmaker likened the amendment to necessitating a police officer to get a warrant just to look up a license plate in their database. They pointed out that under current rules, if a suspected terrorist abroad contacts a U.S. citizen, Section 702 already captures this interaction.

However, the amendment would mandate a warrant to review the communication’s content, raising concerns about potential delays during urgent threats.

Several sources informed Fox News that during a private meeting with House Republicans on Wednesday, Speaker Johnson voiced his opposition to the amendment, triggering frustration among GOP hardliners.

This conflict places Johnson in a challenging position, caught between the House Judiciary Committee and its supporters, who view Section 702 as a means of exploitation and invasion of privacy, and the U.S. intelligence community alongside congressional national security advocates, who argue it is an essential, narrowly-tailored instrument for thwarting terrorist threats.