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.
The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act is a modern wiretapping law originally enacted in 1978.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’ communications without a warrant.
The law’s 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’s renewal. Existing FISA Court certifications approved in March 2026 remain in effect until March 2027, but the lapse limits new collection authority going forward.
Government officials have said that more than 60% of the information in President Trump’s daily intelligence update, known as the President’s Daily Brief, involves FISA-labeled intelligence in some form.
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’ 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.
The controversy over FISA stems from the collection of Americans’ data.
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.
It was this controversy that ultimately led to the law’s expiration after two short-term extensions this spring, as congressional Republican leadership sought to avoid exposing members to a politically divisive vote.
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’ data that may be caught up in surveillance of foreign actors.
The congressional stalemate over how to reform FISA has lasted for years.
In 2024, during the Biden administration, a similar bipartisan coalition opposed renewal.
The major sticking point was whether to require intelligence agencies to obtain a warrant before searching for information about Americans.
The provision ultimately passed without the warrant requirement.
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.
Searches for U.S. citizens’ data intersect directly with constitutional protections against unlawful searches and privacy.
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.
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.
“The 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,” he said.
Mainstream Republicans, including House Speaker Mike Johnson of Louisiana, stopped that draft, Mr. Himes said.
Now, the law is quickly becoming a frequent “must-pass” provision in Congress. That status, along with the law’s impact on American privacy, has made it a political football for nearly every player in Washington.
Mr. Trump posted “KILL FISA” on Truth Social in April 2024, alleging the program was “illegally used against” 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
• Lindsey McPherson contributed to this report.
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