Congress passes short extension of surveillance program

The House and Senate on Friday approved a short-term extensive of a section of federal law that allows the warrantless surveillance and collection of foreign intelligence, though a renewal beyond the end of this month remains in jeopardy.

Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 was set to expire on Monday and allows the government to collect the communications of people outside the U.S., including when they are interacting with Americans. Friday’s votes extend the program to April 30.

The short-term extension advanced out of the House only after GOP hard-liners spiked separate five-year and 18-moth proposals to extend the program in the early hours of Friday morning.

Why is Section 702 controversial?

Supporters argue the warrantless surveillance program is an invaluable tool in protecting U.S. interests and thwarting potential threats. The CIA said this month that the program helped to thwart a planned terrorist attack at a 2024 Taylor Swift concert in Austria.

But an extension without changes to the program is widely opposed by many GOP hard-liners and by some Democrats, like Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., who briefly held up the short-term extension on Friday but relented in the hopes of striking a deal to more substantially change the surveillance program.

“Americans understand that every single day there are abuses of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act,” Wyden said from the Senate floor on Friday, calling a straight extension unacceptable. “So it is clear it’s time for real reforms to protect Americans from a government that they rightly do not trust.”

What does the White House say?

President Donald Trump has called for a clean, 18-month extension of the program, posting his support on Truth Social on Wednesday and citing the need for robust defenses particularly amid the ongoing war in Iran.

“The fact is, whether you like FISA or not, it is extremely important to our Military. I have spoken to many Generals about this, and they consider it vital. Not one said, even tacitly, that they can do without it — especially right now with our brilliant Military Operation in Iran,” Trump said.

What’s next?

The House and Senate both left town on Friday after advancing the short-term extension. Leaders in both chambers will have to resume negotiations when they return to Washington next week. And they’ll have to contend with members on both sides of the aisle who are calling for greater protections of U.S. citizens’ privacy.

Reps. Jim Himes, D-Conn., Jamie Raskin, D-Md., and Jim McGovern, D-Mass., the top Democrats on the House Intelligence, Judiciary and Rules committees, respectively, issued a joint statement on Friday slamming their Republican colleagues for trying to jam through a five-year extension in the middle of the night.

“In agreeing to a two-week extension of this authority, Democrats have made clear that this will need to be a true bipartisan process, and they must work with us in good faith to reach an agreement that puts in place significant reforms and safeguards,” the lawmakers wrote. “And because all members and the public deserve a meaningful role in this process consistent with House rules, we have insisted and Republicans have agreed to post the results of our negotiations at least 72 hours prior to any vote.”

Correction: This story has been revised to reflect that Congress extended Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978. A previous version misstated the year of the act.