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House Passes FISA Extension, but There's a Catch

Rebecca Downs
Rebecca Downs  |  April 12, 2024 3:45 PM

Earlier on Friday, the House cleared a two-year extension of Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) with a bipartisan vote of 273-147. The passage comes after the vote failed on Wednesday in the chamber, where Republicans have a particularly narrow majority and thus could not afford to lose the 19 conservatives who voted against passing the bill earlier in the week. That bill failed with a vote of 228-193. Nevertheless, there's still hurdles for the legislation that passed on Friday to overcome before it heads to the Senate and President Joe Biden, with the White House in support of it.

When it comes to the further drama, Rep. Andy Biggs' (R-AZ) amendment to require a warrant for certain searches failed. That it was a tied vote of 212-212, which CNN's Kristin Wilson noted you don't see, "ever," meant it failed. Thirteen members were not present to vote. 

The controversial program allowing for warrantless surveillance has resulted in strong opposition from conservatives focused on privacy rights and the Fourth Amendment, not just from Biggs, but members like Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY). 

As The Hill described it, the amendment "had emerged as the central disagreement in the FISA debate, pitting privacy hawks on the Judiciary Committee--who were in favor of the provision--against members of the Intelligence Committee and the White House, who opposed it." 

The House Freedom Caucus was also in favor of the amendment, as they explained in a "Statement of Administration Policy." The X account for the House Judiciary GOP, which Biggs is a member of, also posted on Thursday night "GET A WARRANT," inviting people to "RETWEET IF YOU AGREE," along with "#FISA." So far, there have been 1,400 reposts, including from members like Biggs. 

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Opposition for the bill even brought members like House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH) and the Congressional Progressive Caucus Chairwoman Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) together in rare agreement.

Biggs posted from both of his X accounts throughout Friday about the vote, both before and after his amendment failed. He had particularly strong words for his fellow Republicans, as he called out members of the "Uniparty" and the "Deep State" for tanking the vote. 

In a repost of Massie, Biggs also called out Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) in particular for voting against the amendment.

From the House floor, Biggs claimed the House Intelligence Committee was making "simply inaccurate" points. He also declared that "when it comes to warrantless searches for Americans, [the administration] can't provide any examples of where they've provided any useful information," decrying how "and yet they continue to want to look at U.S. persons' information without a warrant," as he urged support for his amendment.

In referring to the passage as "a win" for Johnson, The Hill also highlighted differences from the bill that failed on Wednesday after Thursday negotiations with fellow Republicans who had been opposed, "Johnson agreed to change the FISA reauthorization from five years to two years, keep a vote on the warrant requirement amendment and hold a vote in the near future on a separate data privacy bill, which was enough to get the hard-liners to agree to open the legislation up for debate." 

While the extension may have passed, there's still procedure hurdles that need to be cleared next week before it officially makes its way through the House. Fox News' Chad Pergram has been covering the confusion throughout Friday, including from members of the House on the floor. 

Before the bill gets sent over to the Senate, the House must vote next week on a motion to table the vote to reconsider, with House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Turner (R-OH) offering the motion to reconsider. 

In calling the procedural move "pretty rare" and something "we don't see very often," Pergram highlighted how Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL) has requested a vote for a motion to table the motion to reconsider. As Pergram explained it further, "reconsider" means the House is going to vote again, and tabling it would kill it, which is not something that's often called for. "That's the hold up that would delay getting it to the Senate."