June 11 (UPI) — A bill that would have extended warrantless spy powers rules failed in the House Thursday after Democrats refused to back the measure in retaliation for President Donald Trump’s nomination of Bill Pulte as acting director of national intelligence.
The House is scheduled to leave for recess Friday, and Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act is set to expire then, too. The measure was a short-term extension.
The vote failed 198 to 218. Seven Democrats and 19 Republicans voted against it.
Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said there would be no point in bringing the House back from recess.
“We passed a three-year extension on April 29. It is sitting in the hopper over there as a live bill. Just now, I attempted to pass a short-term extension for three weeks, clean extension, no changes to the law, just to make sure that the people are not subjected to great harm, and the Democrats — 199 of them — voted against it and applauded themselves as they left the building,” Johnson said. “What would be the point of me going through this exercise over and over? The House has done every single thing.”
The three-year extension was part of a compromise that was rejected after the Pulte nomination.
Trump announced Pulte’s nomination on June 2, replacing the outgoing Director of National intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, who leaves June 30. After pushback from critics, Trump then announced that Pulte was only going to take the post temporarily. Pulte has no intelligence experience. He is also head of the Federal Housing Finance Agency and has used his position to investigate some of the president’s opponents and allege mortgage fraud.
Many lawmakers have demanded reforms to the FISA program, which added to Johnson’s struggle to get the bill passed. He needed a two-thirds vote.
During the Wednesday night debate, Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, who was once a critic of Section 702, said the bill would give the House “three weeks to continue to hammer it out” to keep the law, The Hill reported.
Section 702 allows the federal government to access the communications of non-citizens outside of the United States without a warrant. The data of Americans can also get caught up in the mix if they are in contact with the targets.
On Wednesday, Trump re-iterated his support of Pulte on Truth Social.
“I have named William Pulte to be Acting Director of National Intelligence, who will take over on June 19th, and have asked him to execute the immediate and needed downsizing of the office, reverting staff to their home agencies. At the same time, I am looking for a permanent ODNI Nominee with experience in National Security.
“FISA 702 is very important to our Military, and keeping the American People safe, especially during the World Cup and America250 Celebrations. If nothing is done, this important Law will expire this week. I am asking Congress to send me a short-term extension of FISA to provide time for the selection and confirmation of a permanent Head of the Agency. I would like to thank Director Pulte for his time and commitment,” he posted.