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The Senate was nearing a resolution to a key hurdle to revive the nation’s most valuable counterterrorism tool until President Donald Trump blew it up.
The last-minute hitch to the Senate’s march toward reauthorizing Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) comes just days after a domestic terror plot was foiled in Washington, D.C.
It’s a program that its champions and critics say is critical to thwarting terror plots abroad and one heavily used by the FBI, which over the weekend foiled a plan to use bomb-laden drones and snipers to potentially kill thousands at Trump’s Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) birthday celebration.
The Senate was on its way to confirming Trump’s pick to be the next director of national intelligence (DNI), Jay Clayton, in a bid to get one step closer to reauthorizing Section 702, but Trump’s eleventh-hour decision to call off Clayton’s confirmation hearing halted all momentum.
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“It is the single most important program in terms of maintaining national security, and putting Mr. Clayton into the department would have eliminated an obstacle for having that happen,” Sen. Angus King, I-Maine, said. “I’m not sure. I think it’s a mistake for the president to have done this, and, hopefully, he’ll change his mind.”
FISA reauthorization has long been a policy-based issue on the Hill. Boiled down, the Section 702 program allows the U.S. government to collect intelligence on foreigners abroad who are using U.S. communication systems, and it serves as a major part of Trump’s daily intelligence briefing.
But it also sweeps up communications from Americans who are talking to foreign suspects, and proponents pushing reforms argue that loopholes in the program allow for the surveillance of Americans on U.S. soil.
But it’s now morphed into a deeply political issue on the Hill. Democrats recoiled weeks ago when Trump tapped his Housing director, Bill Pulte, to serve in the interim as DNI. His nomination of Clayton was seen as an olive branch to restart talks.
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Now lawmakers say they’re back at the starting line after Trump halted Clayton’s confirmation hearing and demanded that his SAVE America Act be attached to the unrelated bill.
“This is why I’m making the case you have to have permanent reform, because you can’t count on any of these people to be there for a very long time, and that’s what we saw today,” Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., said. “I’m the longest serving member on the committee, and I have never seen anything quite like this.”
Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., contended that Trump’s current position is to “up the ante.”
“I mean, he’s putting 702 [reauthorization] almost out of reach,” Tillis said. “But he’s got to consciously recognize he’s doing that. We were close before the Pulte announcement. We were back on the right track with the Clayton announcement. Now we’re back to square one.”
Senate Democrats raged at the latest development, and argued that Trump couldn’t care less about the nation’s security.
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“Look, Trump’s actions overnight make it clear he is undermining our national security,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said. “He doesn’t give a damn about the American people’s safety, plain and simple. And every action he takes undercuts our safety for his own ridiculous, sometimes even indiscernible political motivation.”
What was already a difficult issue based on policy alone has turned into a political slugfest with jabs, parries and haymakers dealing stiff blows to the process.
Some Republicans believe that Democrats made the issue political and own the current situation.
“They’re just looking for some other reason to pin the tail on the donkey here, but it’s sort of — the ball’s in their court, but a lot of important issues at stake for sure,” Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Mo., said.
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Some privacy hawks don’t see the current situation as entirely doom and gloom.
While the current compromise three-year reauthorization waiting in the wings can pass if the stars align and the political firestorm abates, there are lawmakers who want another bite at the apple to push for more reforms and see the delay as an opportunity.
“I welcome the opportunity to, at the very least, to get rid of ridiculous provisions that say that, you know, if you have Wi-Fi in your home or building, that they may then be a FISA obligated provider,” Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., said. “I mean, what in the world?”
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