Rep. Jim Himes (D-Conn.) introduced an amendment Tuesday to reauthorize Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), requiring FBI agents to seek judicial approval from a special court before accessing Americans’ communications data. The proposal, unveiled moments before the House Rules Committee convened for a hearing, aims to add oversight to a program criticized for its broad surveillance powers. Speaker Mike Johnson has indicated he will not allow amendments to the reauthorization bill on the House floor, but Himes’ amendment underscores the growing bipartisan push to prevent the program from expiring in April without a compromise.
Himes’ amendment would grant the special court five days to approve requests from the FBI to use Section 702, which allows the collection of foreign communications metadata. While the FBI could proceed without waiting for a verdict in emergencies like terror threats, the court could order the agency to delete data if the search was deemed improper. Himes called the program ‘too critical to allow it to expire’ but emphasized the need for reforms to prevent abuse. Meanwhile, President Trump has escalated efforts to secure Republican support for a clean reauthorization, hosting GOP holdouts at the White House and urging lawmakers to ‘UNIFY’ on the issue.
Democratic lawmakers have also raised concerns about the Trump administration’s potential misuse of Section 702, which currently allows agencies like the FBI and NSA to access Americans’ data without warrants. A letter from 53 House Democrats warned that the administration could exploit loopholes to target minorities and called for judicial warrants before accessing such data. Section 702, which targets foreign spies and terrorists, has long been controversial for its incidental collection of Americans’ communications. The debate highlights tensions between national security priorities and privacy protections, with Himes’ amendment representing a critical step toward reform.