Congress Remains Divided on Warrantless Surveillance Policies

The deadline to renew Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act is just a week away on June 12th, and it looks like lawmakers are still far from a consensus. This situation might feel familiar, as Congress previously reauthorized Section 702 in late April, but only for a brief 45 days to allow for discussions on potential reforms to this contentious wiretapping authority.

“There were no reformers in any of the conversations that happened. Full stop,” stated Sean Vitka, executive director of Demand Progress, during a press call on Friday afternoon. This came shortly after the Senate voted 52 to 47 against a proposal that would have extended Section 702 for three years, which required a supermajority of sixty votes. Democrats opposed the plan following President Trump’s announcement that Bill Pulte, a businessman lacking security clearance, would take on the role of acting director of national intelligence. Seven Republicans also joined the Democrats in voting against the measure.

As the head of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), Pulte would be responsible for overseeing 18 agencies. In a Friday interview, Trump indicated that he wants Pulte to significantly downsize the ODNI. “We’ve made the Department of Education much smaller, and likewise, this should be much smaller,” Trump remarked. Reports suggest that Trump has urged Pulte to dismiss intelligence personnel who served under the Obama and Biden administrations.

Critics of a straightforward extension of Section 702—one that lacks reforms such as a warrant requirement for queries involving U.S. citizens—have pointed to Trump’s well-documented misuse of surveillance powers. Pulte’s appointment has only complicated matters for the administration, which has been pushing Republican lawmakers to renew Section 702 without any reforms.