The White House is being implored to step in and help Congress extend Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act after negotiations have been upended by President Donald Trump’s appointment of housing finance guru Bill Pulte as the nation’s spy chief.Fresh from Republican blowback over the White House’s proposed $1.776 billion anti-weaponization fund, the Trump administration is now facing pushback before next week’s June 12 deadline to reauthorize FISA, a tool used to surveil foreign nationals overseas without a warrant.Sen. Mike Rounds (R-SD), a member of the Senate intelligence committee, encouraged the White House to get engaged to head off the trouble.
“The executive branch needs to assist us because we need to get 702 through and complete it,” Rounds told the Washington Examiner. “If this is in the way or is going to hold it up because of Democrat opposition, public Democrat opposition, I think we’re going to need the White House or the executive branch to get involved in helping us address the issue.”
FISA has long been criticized by both Democrats and Republicans for concerns that it captures the data and records of U.S. citizens who come into contact with foreign suspects surveilled by the government. Yet, Pulte’s appointment is magnifying those concerns, especially for Democrats. They note that Pulte has used his tenure as director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency and chairman of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to make criminal referrals against Trump political opponents for allegations of mortgage fraud.
