House Republicans Postpone Vote on Extending Section 702 Surveillance Authority

# House GOP Delays Procedural Vote on Section 702 Extension House GOP leadership delayed a procedural vote to extend Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. The delay occurred due to opposition from GOP privacy hawks demanding reforms. Plans for an afternoon vote on the extension were scrapped due to the opposition.

Speaker Mike Johnson, who is from Louisiana and represents the Republican party, is pushing for a clean extension of Section 702, backed by the White House. Section 702 allows warrantless wiretapping of noncitizens overseas. The surveillance authorities under Section 702 are set to lapse on Monday.

Speaker Johnson Addresses Modifications Speaker Mike Johnson told reporters on Wednesday that he is discussing the possibility of minor modifications to the bill demanded by members of his conference.

Different ideas have been floated on how to reform Section 702, including additional restrictions on search queries and enhanced penalties for violations. Speaker Mike Johnson said on Wednesday, "I expect it to be today, probably later today," referring to the procedural rule vote.

Leadership Seeks Support for Vote Speaker Mike Johnson told reporters he believes leadership can secure enough support for the procedural rule vote.

Speaker Mike Johnson can only lose two GOP votes given his slim control of the House. Procedural steps for the measure are typically cast along party lines. Speaker Mike Johnson said on Wednesday, "There’s a lot going on here right now, so there’s a lot of discussions, and they’ve been fruitful.

Everybody’s there in good spirit and good faith.

Background on Section 702 Reforms GOP leadership argues that the 2024 changes are sufficient to safeguard the privacy of Americans caught up in foreign surveillance.

Changes to Section 702 were made in 2024.