WASHINGTON (AP) — A key surveillance tool that allows the United States to collect intelligence abroad appears certain to expire after Congress on Thursday failed to temporarily extend the program, in a protest of President Donald Trump ‘s temporary pick to head the nation’s intelligence agencies.Trump had doubled down on his choice of Bill Pulte for acting director of national intelligence, even though the federal housing finance regulator has little experience for the job. Democrats said they would not support the renewal of Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, known as FISA, unless the Republican president withdrew Pulte’s appointment and nominated a permanent replacement as director of national intelligence. The House vote collapsed in bipartisan fashion, with 19 Republicans and nearly all Democrats rejecting the temporary measure, 198-218. The Senate tried to approve its own versions, but also failed, dimming the chances to prevent what could be rare lapse of spy powers. The law expires Friday at midnight.
After those votes, Trump announced he was tapping Jay Clayton, a U.S. attorney who previously served as chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, as his permanent pick as intelligence director. But the president’s move did not seem able to break the standoff over Pulte before the deadline.
