Both the House and the Senate passed a 45-day extension of Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), which gives the federal government the power to conduct warrantless surveillance of Americans.
The Senate passed the 45-day extension by unanimous consent, and the bill then passed the House by a vote of 261-111. Without the extension, Section 702 would have expired at midnight.
A day earlier, the House passed a three-year extension of the spying power, but the bill included a ban on the Federal Reserve issuing digital currencies, which the Senate rejected.
Section 702, which was first enacted in 2008, authorizes warrantless surveillance of non-Americans and allows the collection of a massive amount of data, including communications with Americans, which are stored indefinitely.
President Trump has been calling for Congress to pass the Section 702 extension even though his 2016 campaign was targeted under FISA. In one post on Truth Social, the president said he was willing to give up his “rights and privileges” to extend the spying power, an acknowledgment that it violates civil liberties.
“While parts of FISA were illegally and unfortunately used against me in the Democrats’ disgraceful Witch Hunt and Attack in the RUSSIA, RUSSIA, RUSSIA Hoax, and perhaps would be used against me in the future, I am willing to risk the giving up of my Rights and Privileges as a Citizen for our Great Military and Country!” the president wrote on Truth Social.
