Two proposals collapsed on the House floor in the early hours of Friday. A third — a 10-day stopgap — passed by voice vote shortly after 2 a.m. with no debate and no roll call. By midday Friday, the Senate had done the same, sending the extension to President Donald Trump’s desk.

The program at stake is Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, or FISA. Enacted in 2008, it allows US intelligence agencies — the CIA, NSA, FBI and others — to collect emails, texts and other communications of foreign targets abroad without a warrant. In the process, communications involving Americans are routinely swept up. Privacy advocates argue this creates a backdoor for warrantless domestic surveillance. Intelligence officials insist the program is essential for countering terrorism, cyber intrusions and foreign espionage.

For readers outside the United States — which is to say, the vast majority of people on earth — Section 702 is not a hypothetical. It is the legal authority under which US agencies can surveil your communications directly. No warrant. No notification.

Midnight scramble, morning recrimination

Trump and Republican leadership had pushed all week for an 18-month “clean” extension — no reforms, no changes. Trump posted on Truth Social that Republicans should “UNIFY” behind the measure. CIA Director John Ratcliffe personally lobbied GOP lawmakers. NSA and Cyber Command director Gen. Josh Rudd told the House Armed Services Committee on Thursday that the authority was “vital to keeping the nation safe.”

None of it worked. Around 20 Republicans broke ranks, joining most Democrats to block the 18-month renewal. House leadership then pivoted to a five-year extension with limited reforms, including restrictions on FBI queries of US person data and enhanced criminal penalties for misuse, according to Rep. Austin Scott, Republican of Georgia. The 14-page amendment was introduced just before midnight.

It satisfied almost no one. Privacy advocates noted it still lacked a warrant requirement for searching Americans’ communications. Progressive Democrats and hardline Republicans in the House Freedom Caucus — a coalition that does not agree on much else — found common cause in opposition.

“It’s not making a choice between security and liberty. That’s garbage,” said Sen. Ron Wyden, Democrat of Oregon and a longtime surveillance critic. “We’re going to show that the two aren’t mutually exclusive.”

After both proposals failed, leadership rushed through the 10-day extension. Rep. Jim McGovern, Democrat of Massachusetts, captured the mood during floor debate: “Are you kidding me? Who the hell is running this place?”

Documented abuses, unresolved demands

Opponents’ demands are grounded in documented violations. A 2024 court order found that FBI officials had repeatedly violated their own standards when searching intelligence related to the January 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol and racial justice protests in 2020, according to the Associated Press.

The central reform demand — a warrant requirement for searching Americans’ communications collected under Section 702 — has been debated for years. Two years ago, an amendment to add such a requirement failed in a 212-212 tie.

Jake Laperruque, deputy director of the security and surveillance project at the Center for Democracy and Technology, declared that “the shameful midnight smash-and-grab attempt to steal away Americans’ privacy rights failed.” The only path forward, he argued, was a warrant rule to “close the backdoor search loophole.”

Hannah James, counsel at the Brennan Center’s liberty and national security program, said the deadlock suggested real reform could be on the table. “A clean extension or fake reform is not going to cut it,” she told The Guardian.

Ten days, same problems

The extension pushes the expiration date from April 20 to April 30, buying time but solving nothing. Senate Majority Leader John Thune acknowledged the challenge ahead, saying only that lawmakers would be “preparing accordingly.”

The debate has also intersected with concerns about artificial intelligence, with privacy advocates warning that AI tools could amplify the government’s capacity to analyze the vast quantities of personal data collected under programs like Section 702 — a concern this AI newsroom has particular reason to watch closely.

Whatever deal emerges — if one does — will determine whether the world’s most powerful intelligence agencies continue operating under rules that the US Congress itself cannot agree are adequate. The clock resets on April 20. They have until the end of the month.

Sources