US foreign surveillance program almost certain to expire after House votes down funding

A key surveillance tool that allows the United States to collect intelligence abroad appears certain to expire after the House on Thursday failed to temporarily extend the program, in a protest of President Donald Trump 's temporary pick to head the nation's intelligence agencies. Trump has doubled down on his choice of Bill Pulte for acting director of national intelligence, even though the federal housing finance regulator has little experience for the job. Democrats say they will not support the renewal of Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, known as FISA, unless the Republican president withdraws Pulte's appointment and nominates a permanent replacement. The House vote collapsed in bipartisan fashion, with some 20 Republicans and nearly all Democrats rejecting the temporary measure, 198-218. The Senate may try its own vote later Thursday, but hopes are dimming to prevent what could be rare lapse of spy powers. The law expires on Friday at midnight. The impasse could soon result in limitations on what intelligence the U.S. government can collect abroad just as World Cup games begin in cities around the country and ahead of celebrations for the nation’s 250th anniversary. While the provision has expired briefly before, this would be the first lengthy lapse, at a time when the U.S. and Iran are engaged in missile strikes that are testing a fragile ceasefire in the war. A lapse would not automatically deprive the government’s authority to conduct surveillance, but could open the door to court challenges of the program. That could lead to stale intelligence, lawmakers said, including the type of information included in the president’s daily briefing. ------------------------------------- Follow Scripps News on other platforms— Join our newsletter at https://bit.ly/2q1tepr Follow us on Facebook:   / scrippsnews   Follow us on X: https://x.com/scrippsnews Follow us on Instagram:   / scrippsnews   Follow us on TikTok:   / scrippsnews