House panel tees up vote on revised FISA reauthorization

The House Rules Committee advanced a bill to reauthorize the U.S.’s warrantless surveillance authority late Thursday night, sending the measure to the floor one day after a band of Republicans blocked consideration of a previous version of the legislation.

The panel voted 8-4 to adopt the rule — which governs debate on legislation — for a measure that would reauthorize Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), which is set to expire on April 19.

The program allows for the warrantless surveillance of foreigners located abroad, a process that also sweeps up the communications of Americans as they interact with those being spied upon.

The House is expected to vote Friday on the final bill and a number of amendments — including one that would add a warrant requirement before the government could review information collected on Americans.

The House Rules Committee reconvened for an emergency meeting Thursday night to review a revised version of the FISA legislation after a group of 19 Republicans tanked a procedural vote for the initial bill Wednesday, blocking the chamber from debating the measure.

But after negotiations on Thursday, many of the hard-liners said they would allow the legislation to advance after notching some changes and commitments from leadership.

The new version would reauthorize Section 702 of FISA for two years rather than the five-year timeline originally included in the bill.

The rule still includes a vote on an amendment that would add a warrant requirement to Section 702, a key demand among privacy hawks who say the full House should be able to weigh the matter.

The GOP holdouts also said that leadership has committed to holding a vote on a bill sponsored by Rep. Warren Davidson (R-Ohio) that would require the government to get a warrant before purchasing information about U.S. citizens from data brokers.

With those changes and commitments, a number of the GOP holdouts said they would support the FISA rule when it hits the floor, or signaled that they were leaning in that direction.

“Barring anything else, I will be good,” Rep. Ralph Norman (R-S.C.) said Thursday.

“I am heavily inclined to [vote for the rule], but I’m just looking at the text,” Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) told reporters. “I believe we’re in the right zip code.”

Not all conservatives, however, were ready to voice their full support. Rep. Cory Mills (R-Fla.), who opposed the rule on Wednesday, said he was undecided on the procedural vote, telling reporters he first wants to read the text. And Rep. Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.) said he is “a little uneasy” about the rule but “could probably hold my nose and vote for the rule.”

Republicans have little room for error. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) told reporters on Thursday that Democrats will not help GOP leaders advance the FISA bill, meaning Republicans will need near unanimity to get the rule over the finish line.

If all members are in attendance, Republicans can only lose two members and still see the rule pass.

Fundamentally, however, the playing field is little changed from Wednesday, when the 19 conservatives tanked the bill over complaints the package did not include enough reforms to protect U.S. citizens.

“Last night, they were lauded for saving the country because they had stopped FISA, and now it’s substantially and identically the same thing today. And, all 19 are gonna vote for it,” Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) told The Hill.

“If they saved the world yesterday, they’re definitely unsaving the world tomorrow.”

The shift to the two-year timeline also ensures that the matter will be punted to the next president — with Massie noting that both Trump and President Biden have already backed reauthorization of FISA. Trump signed into law in 2018 the current version of FISA that his MAGA allies are intent on reforming.

Trump also muddied the waters Wednesday, telling lawmakers they should “kill FISA.”