(Headline USA) A rare lapse in a law that gives the U.S. government vast spying powers appears likely after the House failed on Thursday to temporarily extend the program, in a protest of President Donald Trump’s refusal to name a permanent head of the nation’s intelligence agencies.
Trump has doubled down on his temporary pick for director of national intelligence, federal housing finance regulator Bill Pulte, who by all accounts is fiercely loyal to the president. Democrats say they won’t support the renewal of Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, known as FISA, unless the Republican president withdraws Pulte’s appointment and nominates a permanent replacement.
The House vote collapsed in bipartisan fashion, with some Republicans and nearly Democrats rejecting the temporary measure. The Senate may try its own vote later Thursday, but hopes are dimming to prevent what could be an unprecedented lapse in the surveillance tool. The law expires on Friday at midnight.
The impasse could soon result in limitations on the U.S. government’s vast spying powers.
“We can’t let them extort us,” Trump, who supports FISA despite the law being abused to spy on him, said of Democrats.
Trump has stuck with Pulte as the acting head, rebuffing demands from lawmakers for another nominee. Trump asked Congress for a short-term extension of the law to “provide time for the selection and confirmation” of a permanent director. He said he wants Pulte to begin downsizing intelligence agencies.
GOP leaders lobby the White House, to no avail
Congressional RINOs have lobbied Trump all week to quickly nominate a permanent replacement. But he said he needs more time to do so.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said Republican leaders have “made our views known” to the White House.
Trump has said that he is interviewing five candidates for his pick to lead the agency permanently, after the resignation of Tulsi Gabbard.
Johnson said the president has made it very clear that Pulte will serve a “very short term — a sort of renovation role” to help the Office of the Director of National Intelligence be “renovated and downsized.”
FISA will lapse at midnight Friday
Section 702 of FISA allows agencies such as the CIA, National Security Agency and FBI to collect communications from foreign targets overseas without a warrant. Americans communicating with these foreign targets are often caught in this dragnet.
While members of both parties who cite privacy issues have long claimed desire to limit the authority, there was broad bipartisan support to renew it, especially after Republicans and Democrats recently worked out a compromise bill.
Virginia Sen. Mark Warner, the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, has worked with Republicans on the compromise legislation to renew the authority. But he called Pulte’s appointment to replace Gabbard “a live hand grenade” disrupting the process.
Warner said the only way he’ll support a short-term extension of the surveillance law is if the principal deputy director of national intelligence, Aaron Lukas, is the acting leader during the duration of that extension.
Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton, the chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, and Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, have warned the administration that the spy tool is likely to lapse.
The administration should prepare “for a potential significant gap in foreign intelligence collection,” they wrote in a letter.
Trump doesn’t back down on Pulte
After bipartisan pushback to Pulte’s temporary appointment, Trump said last week that he would not permanently nominate him to the position. But Democrats, and some Republicans, want his appointment pulled immediately and for Trump to nominate a replacement that can be confirmed by the Senate.
On Tuesday, though, Trump announced that Pulte would not only take over as acting director — he’d also start earlier than expected, on June 19.
One of several possible replacements could be Pete Hoekstra, Trump’s ambassador to Canadaand a former chairman of the House Intelligence Committee. The White House has reached out to Hoekstra about the job and conversations are ongoing, according to a person familiar with the outreach who requested anonymity to discuss the private conversations.
Adapted from reporting by the Associated Press
