House Speaker Mike Johnson is staring down a conservative revolt over his push to renew the government’s warrantless surveillance program, with key Republican lawmakers threatening to sink a critical procedural vote Wednesday, Fox News reports.
At stake is Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, which lets the federal government spy on foreign nationals abroad without a warrant even when those individuals are communicating with American citizens. Congress faces an April 20 deadline to reauthorize the program.
Johnson and President Trump both support a clean 18-month extension. A growing bloc of House conservatives wants guardrails attached before they’ll vote yes.
Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) said Tuesday she would oppose the test vote that would advance the bill to final passage. House Freedom Caucus Chair Andy Harris (R-MD) predicted the vote would fail outright if leadership didn’t add the reforms privacy hawks are demanding.
The fight has divided Republicans along familiar fault lines. Some conservatives are pushing for a warrant requirement before the government can search communications involving American citizens. Others, like Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., have said they won’t vote yes unless the SAVE America Act, a Trump-backed election security bill, is attached to the legislation.
The Rules Committee rejected a warrant requirement amendment from Rep. Andy Biggs (R-AZ) on a party-line vote earlier this week.
Gen. Dan Caine, in a letter to Congress Monday, issued a stark warning against letting the program lapse. “The loss or reduction of FISA Section 702 authorities would increase risk to the Joint Force, degrade our worldwide combat lethality, and significantly impair the U.S. Security,” Caine wrote, citing the ongoing conflict with Iran.
Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, who once pushed for tighter FISA restrictions, has shifted to supporting a short-term clean extension, pointing to more than 60 reforms Congress made to the program in 2024. “In light of the progress that has been made and the threats we face, we think a temporary short-term extension of the program makes sense,” Jordan said Tuesday.
Democrats are not expected to break with their caucus to bail out Republican leadership on the procedural vote, meaning Johnson can afford to lose only a handful of his own members. Whether he has the votes remained unclear ahead of the Wednesday afternoon test.
Trump has urged his party to “UNIFY” as the deadline approaches.
