The House rejected a short-term extension of a government spy program set to lapse in just one day.
The House voted 198-218, with 19 Republicans joining nearly every Democrat against the three-week patch of Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. The bill would have needed a two-thirds majority to pass under an expedited process.
Seven Democrats, Reps. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ), Henry Cuellar (D-TX), Vicente Gonzalez (D-TX), Don Davis (D-NC), Jared Golden (D-ME), and Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (D-WA), voted for the measure.
The latest failure to pass an extension of the key government spy tool comes after weeks of stalled talks.
Several of the Republican “no” votes stemmed from hard-liners who are demanding a warrant requirement for data of U.S. citizens to be attached to an extension of Section 702, which allows for the surveillance of foreign nationals abroad without a warrant.
Democrats largely withheld their support for the measure over President Donald Trump’s appointment of top housing official Bill Pulte as acting director of national intelligence, arguing that he is not fit to serve in the position.
“Section 702 is a critical foreign intelligence authority, but we cannot in good conscience vote for reauthorization without significant reforms to protect both national security and the constitutional privacy rights of Americans,” Democratic leaders, including House Intelligence Committee ranking member Jim Himes (D-CT), said in a joint statement ahead of the vote.
“Bill Pulte has no relevant national security experience,” the statement continues. “Consequently, his appointment is in defiance of the law that requires the Director of National Intelligence to have ‘extensive’ national security experience.”
Democrats have repeatedly called for Trump to walk back his decision to appoint Pulte as acting DNI before they support any deal on the government surveillance program, a demand that the president has refused.
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Instead, the president called on Congress to pass a short-term deal to give him time to select a permanent successor to outgoing DNI Tulsi Gabbard and avoid the lapsing of the spy tool.
“FISA 702 is very important to our Military, and keeping the American People safe, especially during the World Cup and America250 Celebrations,” the president wrote on Truth Social. “If nothing is done, this important Law will expire this week.”
This story is breaking and will be updated.