Trump won’t back FISA renewal unless Save America Act passed too

A key – but controversial – surveillance tool used by the U.S. government to prevent terror attacks and catch foreign spies expired Friday and now faces an additional obstacle to being renewed. 

Big picture view:

The program, known as Section 702, is part of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) and gives U.S. intelligence agencies broad leeway to collect and examine communications by foreigners outside the United States without getting a warrant.

First passed in 2008, Section 702 has been reauthorized several times, and the process has spurred contentious debate in Congress over whether more guardrails are needed to protect Americans’ privacy. On Friday, though, the program expired after Congress did not pass a renewal measure.

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Trump’s demand

With Section 702 authorization lapsed, President Donald Trump indicated Sunday that he does not want to see it come back, unless Congress also passes the Save America Act, an unrelated bill that requires proof of citizenship for voting. 

What they're saying:

"I’m against FISA if it doesn’t come with The Save America Act (Full version!) firmly attached to it," the president wrote in a social media post where he also alleged that Democrats used FISA against him during his first term in office.

What's next:

The program’s expiration is not expected to cause an immediate drop-off in intelligence collection because a court order in March gave the government surveillance powers under the law that would last for another year.

However, with lawmakers heading toward recess, it is unclear how soon they would be able to pass a renewal bill if they wanted to revive it.

 

PoliticsDonald J. Trump