Progressives say they'll vote against warrantless spy power renewal
Source: The Hill
03/20/26 6:00 AM ET
The Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC) formally voted to oppose reauthorization of the nation’s warrantless surveillance powers, a move that could signal difficulty for a House GOP tasked with meeting President Trump’s demand for an 18 month extension of the program.
It is the first time the caucus has formally agreed to vote against renewing Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), which allows the government to spy on foreigners located abroad. However, privacy-minded lawmakers argue the intelligence community should get a warrant before reviewing information on Americans that get swept up if they communicate with those surveilled.
The position is the caucus’s firmest stance to date against Section 702, binding the CPC’s 98 House members — almost a quarter of the chamber — to vote against a straight renewal of the program. That complicates matters for a GOP that has traditionally struggled to get many of its own members to back reauthorization of FISA.
“While Donald Trump and Stephen Miller are showing unprecedented disregard for the basic Constitutional rights of Americans, the last thing we should be doing is handing them massive surveillance powers they will abuse. Americans are asking us to stand up and fight back. Democrats should unite in opposing Section 702 renewal without dramatic reforms,” Rep. Greg Casar (D-Texas), CPC’s chair, said in a statement to The Hill.
Read more: https://thehill.com/homenews/house/5792731-progressives-fisa-section-702/