House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) announced Thursday that he and his fellow House Democrats are not planning to provide House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) with enough votes to advance a vote on government surveillance authorities, which might help the Republican leader overcome an impasse on the matter.
For months, lawmakers have deliberated whether to extend certain government surveillance authorities under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), including a provision known as Section 702 that allows warrantless searches of Americans’ digital communications. These surveillance authorities have attracted bipartisan criticism and efforts to require government authorities to obtain warrants before proceeding with domestic surveillance efforts.
In a 193–226 vote on Wednesday, the House failed to pass a resolution that would have allowed a FISA reform bill to come before the House floor for further consideration. 19 House Republicans joined 209 Democrats who voted in opposition to the procedural effort.
The Republicans who joined Democrats in opposing the procedural effort included Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.), Dan Bishop (R-N.C), Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.), Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.), Michael Cloud (R-Texas), Bob Good (R-Va.), Nancy Mace (R-S.C.), Ralph Norman (R-S.C.), Chip Roy (R-Texas.), Eli Crane (R-Ariz.), Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.), Clay Higgins (R-La.), Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.), Cory Mills (R-Fla.), Scott Perry (R-Pa.), Matt Rosendale (R-Md.), and Greg Steube (R-Fla.). Members of this group have routinely opposed the reauthorization of FISA without a requirement for warrants to surveil Americans.
Not all Republicans who favored the procedural effort are on the same page about what to do with FISA. Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), who has favored warrant requirements, was among those who voted in favor of the procedural effort on Wednesday.
“Many of us who are adamantly opposed to warrantless surveillance voted for the resolution, wanting to get a recorded vote on warrants, and recognizing the Speaker can otherwise suspend the rules and bring anything to the floor without a resolution, like he did with the omnibus,” Mr. Massie said.
“Tactically, whether the [19 Repubblicans who opposed the procedural effort] did the best thing or not is [to be determined]. They may have just stopped our only chance to have a vote on whether the government needs a warrant to spy on you. That vote might not have passed, but everyone would have had to go on the record for the world to see.”
The 19 Republicans who voted against the procedural effort on Wednesday have insisted requirements for a warrant in Section 702 should be included in the base text of any FISA reauthorization bill
After that Wednesday procedural effort failed, House Republican leadership canceled another vote scheduled for later in the day and instead called a conference meeting.
Lawmakers leaving the meeting said it had been productive insofar as it gave the two camps a chance to discuss the issue and explain their positions. However, plans for addressing FISA going forward remain unclear.
The Republican infighting over these FISA reforms, including among proponents of a warrant requirement, has led to speculation that House Democrats who favor reauthorizing FISA might strategically align themselves with the House Speaker if it brings about a standalone bill to extend the FISA powers. At a press conference on Thursday, a reporter asked Mr. Jeffries if Democrats would organize an effort to break the impasse and whether to help Mr. Johnson advance a FISA reauthorization effort, and asked if the two Congressional leaders had discussed such a proposal.
“No, and no,” Mr. Jeffries replied.
Mr. Jeffries’ apparent unwillingness to help Mr. Johnson circumvent Republican divisions means the speaker will likely have to scramble for other options. Some portions of the FISA program are set to continue for another year, but Section 702 will expire on April 19 unless it’s reauthorized.
Joseph Lord and Savannah Hulsey Pointer contributed to this article.
