US spy law to expire for first time after lawmakers reject Trump’s controversial pick to lead spy agencies
The House of Representatives has failed to renew the U.S. government’s warrant-less surveillance law before it is due to expire on Friday, all but guaranteeing that it will lapse for the first time, as lawmakers protest the appointment of a controversial Trump ally to oversee U.S. intelligence agencies.
The House voted 218-198 on the bill, which needed a two-thirds majority to pass; 19 Republican lawmakers voted against it. According to Politico, the next vote is scheduled for June 23.
The spy law, officially dubbed the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), broadly allows U.S. intelligence agencies to collect vast amounts of information, including on Americans, to identify foreign hackers, spies and potential terrorists. Also known as Section 702 for its place in the law books, the regulation has been considered critical to national security by both Democrats and Republicans for years.
Bipartisan efforts to renew the decades-old spy law stalled...
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