Senate Republicans early Friday could not muster enough votes to move forward on a long-term reauthorization of Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, leaving the key surveillance power, which expires next week, in limbo as both chambers leave the Capitol for the weekend.
The Senate voted 47-52 on the motion to proceed to the measure, with a bipartisan cohort voting against the extension. Its opponents have been frustrated by the lack of privacy changes to the program — which allows the U.S. government to collect digital communications of foreigners located outside the country — and by President Donald Trump’s pick of Bill Pulte to be the acting director of national intelligence.
The vote’s outcome was uncertain hours before it began. But Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., told reporters they were holding the vote “because any hope of [starting] next week, we’ve got to get the process started.”
Thune acknowledged even before the vote that several in his conference opposed the program without changes.
Section 702 of the law expires on June 12. Seven Republican senators — Josh Hawley of Missouri, John Kennedy of Louisiana, Mike Lee of Utah, Rand Paul of Kentucky, Eric Schmitt of Missouri, Rick Scott of Florida and Tommy Tuberville of Alabama — joined Democrats in voting against advancing the legislation, while Democrat John Fetterman of Pennsylvania voted in favor of moving forward.
