During a closed-door House GOP Conference meeting, Speaker Mike Johnson advised lawmakers against an amendment on warrant requirements as the House of Representatives prepared to renew Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA). This section allows the government to surveil communications of non-Americans overseas suspected of having links to terrorism without a warrant, potentially sweeping up data of Americans in the process. Johnson cautioned that the language of the proposed amendment may be too narrow and difficult to apply, despite arguments by the House Judiciary Committee in favor of it.
The proposed amendment, led by Rep. Andy Biggs, would prohibit intelligence officials from querying information about U.S. citizens collected through Section 702 without first obtaining a warrant, except in cases of emergency with an imminent threat of death or bodily harm. House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Turner expressed support for Johnson’s opposition to the amendment, citing concerns that it would require a warrant to search the data of terrorist leaders like the head of ISIS or Al-Qaeda, potentially endangering Americans. Johnson argued that the Reforming Intelligence and Securing America (RISA) Act, set to be voted on, already includes necessary reforms to prevent abuse of Section 702.
Privacy advocates on the right have raised objections to the RISA Act, claiming it does not go far enough in addressing concerns about data collection on American citizens. They argue that the federal government has exploited backdoor loopholes in the existing FISA Section 702 system to collect data during events like the 2020 Black Lives Matter protests and the Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021. Despite pushback from members of the House Judiciary Committee and their allies, Johnson stood by his opposition to the warrant amendment, prompting criticism from some fellow Republicans, such as Rep. Dan Bishop, who accused him of surrendering neutrality on the issue.
Intelligence panel member Rep. Darin LaHood warned that the warrant amendment would essentially eliminate Section 702 as it currently exists, stressing that the underlying bill represented the most significant reform of the FBI in a generation. The legislation also includes Title I FISA reforms to prevent abuses that occurred during President Trump’s administration. Although Johnson indicated that House GOP leadership would not whip against the proposed amendment, he praised the RISA bill in its current form. Amid internal divisions among Republicans over the surveillance tool renewal, the House faced a critical decision on how to balance civil liberties protections with national security interests.
