House Rejects Section 702 Extension, Leaving FISA Spy Powers Set to Expire Friday

The House rejected a last-minute attempt to extend Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, leaving the key spy authority set to expire Friday, as President Donald Trump’s pick for acting director of national intelligence, Bill Pulte, rattled lawmakers.

CBS News said the short-term extension to July 2 failed to clear the House in a 198 to 218 vote, after House Speaker Mike Johnson fast-tracked the measure and it needed a two-thirds majority.

ABC News

The Los Angeles Times reported that Democrats and some Republicans blocked renewal to protest Trump’s insistence on acting intelligence chief Bill Pulte, and it said the law expires Friday at midnight.

The Washington Post described the House vote as Democrats protested Trump’s decision to temporarily place Bill Pulte, a mortgage agency director and MAGA loyalist, atop the U.S. intelligence community.

The Hill reported the final House vote as 198-218, with 19 Republicans voting against the bill and seven Democrats voting “yes.”

Democrats said they would not support renewal with Pulte installed at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, citing his lack of a national security background and his controversial tenure at the Federal Housing Finance Agency.

CBS News quoted House Democratic leadership saying Pulte’s appointment is in "defiance" of the law that requires the intelligence chief to have national security experience and that they "cannot in good conscience vote for reauthorization without significant reforms" to the FISA statute.

Bloomberg Government News

The Los Angeles Times said Democrats would not support renewal of Section 702 unless Trump withdraws Pulte’s appointment and nominates a permanent replacement.

The Washington Post said the House rejected the extension as Democrats protested Trump’s decision to temporarily place Bill Pulte atop the U.S. intelligence community.

The Hill reported that Democrats were furious that Trump handed the job of acting director of national intelligence to Bill Pulte, a loyalist with no intelligence experience, and that House Republicans failed to secure enough Democratic votes for a short-term extension.

After the House failed to extend Section 702, Trump announced he was tapping Jay Clayton, a U.S. attorney who previously served as chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission, as his permanent pick as intelligence director.

The Los Angeles Times said it was not immediately clear whether that would break the standoff over Pulte before the deadline, and it warned a lapse could open the door to court challenges of the program.

CBS News said Section 702 allows the government to collect the communications of noncitizens located outside the U.S. without a warrant, though it can also sweep up the data of Americans who are in contact with targeted foreigners.

CBS News also quoted Rep. Rick Crawford of Arkansas saying a lapse in the spy power would be "uncharted territory" and that "Once this authorization expires, the clock starts ticking," while Rep. Jamie Raskin said "government surveillance activities will continue unchanged."

The Hill said the House would leave town until June 23, with the deadline already set to expire Friday and no deal reached before recess.