US surveillance law to expire for first time after lawmakers reject Trump’s controversial pick to lead spy agencies

The House of Representatives has failed to renew the U.S. government’s warrantless surveillance law before it is due to expire on Friday, all but guaranteeing that it will lapse for the first time. The vote was 218-198 in favor of the bill, but it needed a two-thirds majority to pass; 19 Republicans voted against it. The next vote is scheduled for June 23.

The law, officially the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), broadly allows U.S. intelligence agencies to collect vast amounts of information, including on Americans, to identify foreign hackers, spies, and potential terrorists. Also known as Section 702, it has been considered critical to national security by both parties for years. Bipartisan efforts to renew the law stalled over recent weeks, with only short-term extensions passed.

Critics have long called for reform, citing abuses by past administrations. Both parties sought provisions requiring a warrant for accessing Americans' private communications. However, a new obstacle arose last week when President Trump appointed his ally Bill Pulte as acting Director of National Intelligence, overseeing over a dozen spy agencies including the CIA and NSA. The appointment sparked fears that Pulte would use the position to attack Trump’s political opponents.

Democrats warned that Pulte’s appointment was a greater risk to national security than letting the law expire. Pulte, who has no intelligence experience, was to start on June 19 alongside his role heading a federal housing agency. On Thursday, the administration withdrew Pulte’s nomination and replaced him with Jay Clayton, current U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York and former SEC chair. By then, many lawmakers had left for a week-long recess, making a last-minute deal unlikely.

Section 702 gained prominence during the 2013 surveillance scandal when former NSA contractor Edward Snowden leaked documents revealing global spying programs. Under PRISM, the NSA accessed data from Apple, Facebook, Google, and Microsoft. Programs authorized under FISA were already certified in March and can continue until March 2027. However, phone companies may stop providing call logs without a clear legal basis. The government also has other tools like Executive Order 12333, allowing near-unfettered global surveillance.

Senator Ron Wyden warned that FISA is still actively used to secretly violate Americans' constitutional rights, based on a secret interpretation of Section 702.