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A group of Democrat senators all agreed Congress should renew the government’s spying powers to ensure national security.
When asked whether the authority should be reauthorized amid ongoing foreign and domestic terror threats, Sens. Mark Warner, D-Va., Peter Welch, D-Vt., and Chris Coons, D-Del., all agreed while raising different concerns surrounding Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA).
Congress let the key spying tool that allows American intelligence agencies to electronically spy on foreigners abroad without a warrant to expire on June 12 for the first time since its enactment in 2008. Intelligence officials, however, note that existing surveillance activity can continue because the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court recertified the program through March 2027.
Additionally, Senate Intelligence Chairman Sen. Warner argued to Fox News Digital that “there has not been a lapse” because communications providers remain legally obligated to turn over material to intelligence agencies
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“That could end at any point, and why we need to get it renewed,” Warner insisted.
Sen. Welch, while backing renewal of the authority, said lawmakers should ensure protections remain in place for Americans. Some in Congress argue the surveillance could be used to spy on citizens.
“It’s still under consideration with protections for our own civilians, but yeah, it’s a good tool,” Welch told Fox News Digital at the Capitol.
FISA 702 expired earlier in June after Democrats voted against its renewal in protest of President Donald Trump’s appointing of Bill Pulte, head of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, to be acting director of national intelligence (DNI).
Tapping Pulte remains a deeply divisive decision that has drawn widespread concern among lawmakers who point to his lack of experience in the industry as to why he should not have interim access to U.S. intelligence information.
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“Yes, we should reauthorize FISA,” Coons said. “I also think Bill Pulte doesn’t belong anywhere near our intelligence system.”
Criticism of Pulte has come from both sides of the aisle, with several Republican senators also questioning his intelligence credentials.
Pulte began in his new role on Friday after Trump forcefully postponed last week’s scheduled Senate Intelligence Committee confirmation hearing for his Director of National Intelligence nominee Jay Clayton. Former DNI Tulsi Gabbard resigned from the position this month due to her husband’s rare cancer diagnosis.Â
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Trump has also said he will not sign a renewal of Section 702 unless it is tied to the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act, which would require voters provide proof of citizenship and a photo ID to cast a ballot in federal elections.
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“There’s one reason if it’s not renewed, and that’s unfortunately President Trump,” Warner said.Â
This sets up a stalemate as several Democrats have said they will not support reauthorizing Section 702 while Pulte remains Trump’s acting DNI pick.
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