Seven Senate Republicans voted against a bipartisan plan to renew Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) for three years. This decision followed Democrats' opposition to President Donald Trump's nominee for director of national intelligence, Bill Pulte. Senators Tommy Tuberville, Rick Scott, Rand Paul, Eric Schmitt, Josh Hawley, Mike Lee, and John Kennedy joined Democrats, except for Senator John Fetterman, in voting against the measure, which failed with a vote of 47 to 52.
The Senate also passed a $70 billion immigration funding bill during a lengthy session, which did not include a proposed ban on a $1.8 billion anti-weaponization fund. Following the immigration bill, the FISA vote took place. Senator Mike Lee stated that the FISA reauthorization failed due to a lack of protections for U.S. citizens, while Senator Rick Scott emphasized the need for significant reforms to protect Americans from government surveillance.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune expressed his intention to revisit the FISA issue and criticized the Democratic opposition as irresponsible. He noted that the timing of Pulte's nomination may have influenced the vote outcome. Democrats had concerns that Pulte would misuse the intelligence community against political opponents. Congress has until June 12 to reach a new agreement to extend FISA before it expires.
