{"id":3073,"date":"2026-06-29T21:37:42","date_gmt":"2026-06-29T21:37:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/?p=3073"},"modified":"2026-06-29T21:37:42","modified_gmt":"2026-06-29T21:37:42","slug":"why-an-expired-wiretapping-law-is-a-sticking-point-in-washington","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/?p=3073","title":{"rendered":"Why an expired wiretapping law is a sticking point in Washington"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n
\n

The law that authorizes the federal government to conduct electronic surveillance has lapsed, thanks to an ongoing dispute between the White House and Congress \u2014 stripping national security agencies of one of their most powerful tools for tracking foreign targets at a time when terrorism and espionage threats directed at the U.S. are surging.<\/p>\n

Read more Chinese, Russian nuclear-capable bombers conduct saber-rattling \u2018strategic\u2019 patrol<\/a><\/p>\n

The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act is a modern wiretapping law originally enacted in 1978. Section 702 of the law, added by amendment in 2008, allows the U.S. government to spy on foreign targets\u2019 communications without a warrant.<\/p>\n

The law\u2019s authorization expired at midnight on June 12. Now, communications such as phone logs, emails, text messages, attachments and other data face new restrictions as the intelligence community waits for the law\u2019s renewal. Existing FISA Court certifications approved in March 2026 remain in effect until March 2027, but the lapse limits new collection authority going forward.<\/p>\n

Government officials have said that more than 60% of the information in President Trump\u2019s daily intelligence update, known as the President\u2019s Daily Brief, involves FISA-labeled intelligence in some form.<\/p>\n

The purpose of the program, multiple intelligence professionals said, is to combat foreign terrorist plots against America. Officials warn that, while existing court certifications keep current collection authority in place until March 2027, the statutory lapse could affect future collection and compromise Americans\u2019 safety if the law is not renewed, noting that data collected under FISA has been used to foil multiple large-scale terrorist plots in recent years.<\/p>\n

The controversy over FISA stems from the collection of Americans\u2019 data.<\/p>\n

Multiple government agencies with access to the intelligence can search the database without a warrant, using query terms targeting U.S. citizens, provided the data was originally collected during the surveillance of a foreign national.<\/p>\n

It was this controversy that ultimately led to the law\u2019s expiration after two short-term extensions this spring, as congressional Republican leadership sought to avoid exposing members to a politically divisive vote.<\/p>\n

Civil liberties groups from across the political spectrum have advocated against Section 702. Most argue that, at a minimum, the law should include stronger guardrails to protect U.S. citizens\u2019 data that may be caught up in surveillance of foreign actors.<\/p>\n

The congressional stalemate over how to reform FISA has lasted for years.<\/p>\n

In 2024, during the Biden administration, a similar bipartisan coalition opposed renewal.<\/p>\n

The major sticking point was whether to require intelligence agencies to obtain a warrant before searching for information about Americans.<\/p>\n

The provision ultimately passed without the warrant requirement.<\/p>\n

An already frustrated far-right faction of the Republican conference had demanded the provision, only to lose. Several of those lawmakers are no longer seeking reelection this fall.<\/p>\n

Searches for U.S. citizens\u2019 data intersect directly with constitutional protections against unlawful searches and privacy.<\/p>\n

Read more U.S. prepares new round of peace talks in Qatar, but Iran says it won\u2019t go<\/a><\/p>\n

Rep. Thomas Massie, Kentucky Republican and longtime advocate for FISA reform, said the databases have been used to query political activists, journalists and congressional lawmakers and staff.<\/p>\n

Rep. Jim Himes of Connecticut, the top Democrat on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, said he started drafting a proposal that would allow the government to query U.S. persons but would require sign-off from a Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court judge before reviewing any information returned under the search.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe draft we had would have required the government to attest that it was reasonably likely to return foreign intelligence information, as opposed to probable cause that a crime had been committed,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Mainstream Republicans, including House Speaker Mike Johnson of Louisiana, stopped that draft, Mr. Himes said.<\/p>\n

Now, the law is quickly becoming a frequent \u201cmust-pass\u201d provision in Congress. That status, along with the law\u2019s impact on American privacy, has made it a political football for nearly every player in Washington.<\/p>\n

Mr. Trump posted \u201cKILL FISA\u201d on Truth Social in April 2024, alleging the program was \u201cillegally used against\u201d him. The president has often criticized the intelligence community and this year attempted to tie the passage of Section 702 to the SAVE America Act, a voting bill that had previously failed.<\/p>\n

It is one of several demands the president has made, attached to the renewal of the lapsed spy authority, that could impact his own daily brief.<\/p>\n

Mr. Trump nominated Jay Clayton, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, to be the permanent director of national intelligence, linking the confirmation process to unrelated legislative demands even after Senate leaders said they would proceed with the nomination in part over attachments to FISA.<\/p>\n

Sen. Tom Cotton, Arkansas Republican and chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, asserted his authority over the hearing in a social media post, and the confirmation hearing proceeded as scheduled on June 17.<\/p>\n

Extending the spy law does not meet the requirements to allow Republicans to act on their own, so bipartisan support is required. Amid a push for reforms, the need for Democrats to support the majority to pass the renewal, and its now-critical role in national security, intelligence professionals told The Washington Times they are worried about how long the renewal could take.<\/p>\n

Read more Army captain sentenced to 12 years for spiking pregnant girlfriend\u2019s drink with abortion pill<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2022 Lindsey McPherson contributed to this report.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The law that authorizes the federal government to conduct electronic surveillance has lapsed, thanks to an ongoing dispute between the White House and Congress — stripping national security agencies of one of their most powerful tools for tracking foreign targets at a time when terrorism and espionage threats directed at the U.S. are surging.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3072,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6,7],"tags":[1182,954],"class_list":["post-3073","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-politics","tag-fisa","tag-foreign-intelligence-surveillance-act"],"yoast_head":"\nWhy an expired wiretapping law is a sticking point in Washington - Home Buyer Relocation<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/?p=3073\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Why an expired wiretapping law is a sticking point in Washington - Home Buyer Relocation\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The law that authorizes the federal government to conduct electronic surveillance has lapsed, thanks to an ongoing dispute between the White House and Congress -- stripping national security agencies of one of their most powerful tools for tracking foreign targets at a time when terrorism and espionage threats directed at the U.S. are surging.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/?p=3073\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Home Buyer Relocation\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-06-29T21:37:42+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/homebuyerrelocation.com\\\/?p=3073#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/homebuyerrelocation.com\\\/?p=3073\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/homebuyerrelocation.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/b2ac56955b020950324cad4c6c27b42a\"},\"headline\":\"Why an expired wiretapping law is a sticking point in Washington\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-29T21:37:42+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/homebuyerrelocation.com\\\/?p=3073\"},\"wordCount\":897,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/homebuyerrelocation.com\\\/?p=3073#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/homebuyerrelocation.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/c4a6667f1d3d5d621a7c4bc9a8b5603f.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Fisa\",\"Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act\"],\"articleSection\":[\"News\",\"Politics\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/homebuyerrelocation.com\\\/?p=3073#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/homebuyerrelocation.com\\\/?p=3073\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/homebuyerrelocation.com\\\/?p=3073\",\"name\":\"Why an expired wiretapping law is a sticking point in Washington - Home Buyer Relocation\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/homebuyerrelocation.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/homebuyerrelocation.com\\\/?p=3073#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/homebuyerrelocation.com\\\/?p=3073#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/homebuyerrelocation.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/c4a6667f1d3d5d621a7c4bc9a8b5603f.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-29T21:37:42+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/homebuyerrelocation.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/b2ac56955b020950324cad4c6c27b42a\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/homebuyerrelocation.com\\\/?p=3073#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/homebuyerrelocation.com\\\/?p=3073\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/homebuyerrelocation.com\\\/?p=3073#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/homebuyerrelocation.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/c4a6667f1d3d5d621a7c4bc9a8b5603f.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/homebuyerrelocation.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/c4a6667f1d3d5d621a7c4bc9a8b5603f.jpg\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":700},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/homebuyerrelocation.com\\\/?p=3073#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/homebuyerrelocation.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Why an expired wiretapping law is a sticking point in Washington\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/homebuyerrelocation.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/homebuyerrelocation.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Home Buyer Relocation\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/homebuyerrelocation.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/homebuyerrelocation.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/b2ac56955b020950324cad4c6c27b42a\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/homebuyerrelocation.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/homebuyerrelocation.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Why an expired wiretapping law is a sticking point in Washington - Home Buyer Relocation","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/?p=3073","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Why an expired wiretapping law is a sticking point in Washington - Home Buyer Relocation","og_description":"The law that authorizes the federal government to conduct electronic surveillance has lapsed, thanks to an ongoing dispute between the White House and Congress -- stripping national security agencies of one of their most powerful tools for tracking foreign targets at a time when terrorism and espionage threats directed at the U.S. are surging.","og_url":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/?p=3073","og_site_name":"Home Buyer Relocation","article_published_time":"2026-06-29T21:37:42+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/?p=3073#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/?p=3073"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/#\/schema\/person\/b2ac56955b020950324cad4c6c27b42a"},"headline":"Why an expired wiretapping law is a sticking point in Washington","datePublished":"2026-06-29T21:37:42+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/?p=3073"},"wordCount":897,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/?p=3073#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/c4a6667f1d3d5d621a7c4bc9a8b5603f.jpg","keywords":["Fisa","Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act"],"articleSection":["News","Politics"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/?p=3073#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/?p=3073","url":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/?p=3073","name":"Why an expired wiretapping law is a sticking point in Washington - Home Buyer Relocation","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/?p=3073#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/?p=3073#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/c4a6667f1d3d5d621a7c4bc9a8b5603f.jpg","datePublished":"2026-06-29T21:37:42+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/#\/schema\/person\/b2ac56955b020950324cad4c6c27b42a"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/?p=3073#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/?p=3073"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/?p=3073#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/c4a6667f1d3d5d621a7c4bc9a8b5603f.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/c4a6667f1d3d5d621a7c4bc9a8b5603f.jpg","width":1200,"height":700},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/?p=3073#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Why an expired wiretapping law is a sticking point in Washington"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/","name":"Home Buyer Relocation","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/#\/schema\/person\/b2ac56955b020950324cad4c6c27b42a","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com"],"url":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3073","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3073"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3073\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/3072"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3073"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3073"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3073"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}