Democratic Leaders Push for Warrant Requirement in Bill to Extend Key Surveillance Power

Democratic leaders in both chambers—joined by some Republicans—said on April 28 that a long-term reauthorization of a key foreign surveillance authority due to expire April 30 will not pass without a warrant requirement to protect Americans.

Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) allows the U.S. government to collect—without a warrant—communications of non-U.S. persons located outside the country. Critics say communications of Americans can be swept up incidentally and then queried by the FBI without judicial approval. On April 17, Congress passed a short-term extension that expires April 30. 

Most Democrats have opposed a “clean” reauthorization without reforms. On the April 17 vote, four House Democrats—Reps. Jared Golden of Maine, Josh Gottheimer of New Jersey, Marie Gluesenkamp Perez of Washington, and Thomas Suozzi of New York—joined Republicans in voting for an 18-month clean extension that ultimately failed. Twenty Republicans joined the remaining Democrats in voting against the extension.

Lawmakers from both parties have pushed for additional safeguards, including requiring warrants when the government searches incidentally collected communications of Americans. Several House Republicans have publicly supported a warrant requirement.

The House Rules Committee began considering S. 1318, the Foreign Intelligence Accountability Act, on April 27 but did not report a rule by the end of Monday night. The panel reconvened on Tuesday and recessed without advancing the bill, which would extend Section 702 through April 30, 2029. The bill is sponsored by House Intelligence Committee Chairman Rick Crawford (R-Ark.). Until the panel reports a rule, the bill cannot move to the House floor.

The Senate on April 28 postponed a planned procedural vote to advance its own three-year reauthorization. Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) said negotiations with Democrats on reforms were ongoing.

“There are constructive conversations going on right now about how to address some of the concerns,” Thune said on the floor. “I hope we can find a way to proceed with this in a fashion that doesn’t allow this authority to go dark at midnight on Thursday.”

Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) said it was the second time the chamber has delayed action and that another attempt to move the bill without reforms would fail.

“If there were the votes today to advance this bill right now, we’d be voting,” Wyden said. “When it comes to reauthorizing Section 702, I’m here to offer the judgment that the only path forward is reform.”

House Democratic Caucus Vice Chair Ted Lieu (D-Calif.) said at a Tuesday morning press conference that the Constitution’s Fourth Amendment requires a warrant to search Americans’ data.

“Many Democrats and some Republicans simply want a warrant requirement because the U.S. Constitution demands that you need warrants under the Fourth Amendment if you’re going to spy on Americans,” Lieu said. “It is not a complicated or difficult concept.”

At a separate press conference on Tuesday, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) was asked whether Senate Democrats would support reauthorization. He said there is broad agreement in the caucus that the law needs to pass—but with changes.

“Of course we want to see FISA done, but it needs some changes,” Schumer said. “And we need to see those.”

Senate Judiciary Committee ranking member and Minority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) pushed an alternative: the Safe Act, a bipartisan bill he introduced with Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) in February that would reauthorize Section 702 for three years and require a judicial warrant before searching Americans’ communications. The bill includes an exception for what Durbin called exigent circumstances. 

Lieu also raised concerns about FBI Director Kash Patel, citing recent controversial news articles. Lieu said he would support a short-term extension if Patel were removed.

Durbin disputed warnings that the surveillance authority would lapse if Congress missed the April 30 deadline. He said Section 702 surveillance operates under year-long certifications approved by the FISA Court that would allow collection to continue into next year regardless of the statute’s expiration later this week.

“There is no emergency excusing Congress from getting this right,” Durbin said.

President Donald Trump has called for a clean reauthorization of Section 702 without new restrictions, saying the authority is essential to national security and military operations despite past abuses. Trump has said military leaders consider Section 702 “vital,” particularly amid the conflict with Iran.

House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) said in his weekly floor outlook that the bill builds on 56 reforms enacted in the 2024 reauthorization and adds new safeguards, including expanded criminal penalties for abuses and an audit of targeting procedures.

“House Republicans are working to ensure that our Intelligence Community has the tools they need to protect our nation from foreign threats while ensuring FISA is not abused against American citizens,” Scalise wrote.  

Section 702 was added to FISA in 2008. Congress most recently reauthorized it in April 2024 through the Reforming Intelligence and Securing America Act, a two-year extension that included 56 reforms in response to documented FBI abuses. A Justice Department inspector general review found more than 60,000 noncompliant FBI queries of Section 702 data in 2021.

Jackson Richman contributed to this report.