Conservatives vow to vote against reauthorizing FISA without including warrant requirement

Conservative lawmakers are calling for an end to warrantless surveillance of Americans ahead of a House floor vote on Wednesday to reauthorize the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA).

The bill, titled the "Reforming Intelligence and Securing America Act," would extend section 702 of FISA, which "authorizes the targeted collection of foreign intelligence information from non-U.S. persons located abroad," according to the FBI.

Conservative Republicans and some Democrats such as Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, have teamed up to push for a warrant requirement as a condition for reauthorizing FISA. However, the legislation up for a vote on Wednesday does not include a warrant requirement in its current form. 

"No matter how hard the deep state cries, Congress must NOT reauthorize FISA 702 without requiring a warrant to search U.S. citizens," wrote Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, on X.

"The SAFE Act contains a warrant requirement, the Lee-Leahy reforms, language ensuring that our Fourth Amendment rights can’t be bought and sold, and a handful of other protections necessary to protect Americans’ privacy," he also wrote.

Co-sponsors of the SAFE Act to whom Lee was referring include Sens. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass. Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., previously introduced an amendment to prohibit warrantless surveillance under FISA, which wasn't voted on since FISA was extended through April 19 without reform in the defense bill.

"Requiring the federal government to obtain a warrant for U.S. persons searches will not threaten national security. It will protect Americans' privacy. Get a warrant," Biggs wrote on his X account. Biggs is doubtful there will be an opportunity to debate a similar amendment on the House floor to require a warrant.

"The speaker originally promised us that we would get a vote on the warrant amendment," Biggs said on the John Solomon Reports podcast on Monday. "I think what he's going to do is he's going to basically tell us that we are out of luck, I'm afraid. He might let us have a warrant amendment fight but there's not even a guarantee of that right now."

Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, said that "the same people who spied on President Trump’s campaign are now fighting against a warrant requirement in the new FISA bill."

"Makes you wonder," Jordan added.

Former Rep. Justin Amash, R-Mich., who rejoined the GOP and entered the U.S. Senate race, wrote on his X account that "anyone who supports FISA 702 and opposes a warrant requirement has violated their oath to support and defend the Constitution and is unfit to serve."

Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., is another strong opponent of reauthorizing FISA in its current form. "The U.S. government uses the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act to spy on Americans without a warrant. This week, the House will vote to require the Feds to get a warrant to snoop on Americans. Sadly this vote is likely to fail. I will demand a recorded vote & post results," Massie said.

According to the left-wing Brennan Center for Justice, the legislation is a reform bill in name only, since it doesn't require law enforcement to obtain a warrant prior to conducting a "U.S. person query" of information on a specific individual.

The FBI has described Section 702 as an "indispensable tool" in the agency's efforts to "protect against national security threats."

Biggs argued that there won't be a delay for law enforcement to get a warrant, emphasizing that there would be exceptions under the warrant requirements he has proposed in the past.

"You can go in and search, you can conduct a seizure, to save lives, those types of things. That is what we have in the warrant requirements. It would have those same exact exceptions that you have in all warrants," he said. 

The Brennan Center for Justice and other organizations wrote a letter on April 5 urging lawmakers to vote in favor of amendments to the bill up for a vote that will require a warrant.

House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Turner, R-Ohio, a proponent of the legislation up for a vote on Wednesday, predicted the bill will pass.

“I think it will," Turner said Sunday on CNN. "I think that those who mischaracterize this are small compared to those who understand that this goes to the heart of our ability to get intelligence. It allows us to be able to keep Americans safe. This is not a warrantless surveillance of Americans."

Biggs argued that the bill Turner supports is "very modest, very incremental" and does not contain significant reforms to Section 702.

"Quite frankly, it's going to be who's watching the henhouse. It's going to be the FBI still watching the henhouse," he said.