Johnson pulls spy powers bill amid GOP infighting

Feb 14, 2024

Speaker Mike Johnson is punting a controversial spy powers bill as GOP infighting threatens to derail his plans once again.

The House was expected to hold a floor vote on legislation to reauthorize Section 702 on Thursday. The authority is meant to target foreigners abroad but has come under scrutiny for its ability to sweep in Americans’ information.

But GOP leadership knew they would have a hard time pushing the bill through, at best. Republican security hawks on the Intelligence Committee were threatening to prevent the bill from even coming up for debate — a detail first reported by POLITICO — while privacy advocates on the Judiciary Committee were vowing to oppose it unless they got amendment votes to further protect Americans’ information.

“In order to allow Congress more time to reach consensus on how best to reform FISA and Section 702 while maintaining the integrity of our critical national security programs, the House will consider the reform and reauthorization bill at a later date,” Raj Shah, a spokesperson for Johnson, wrote on X.

The legislation that was pulled included narrower changes to Section 702 than those preferred by the Judiciary Committee, notably forgoing strict warrant requirements related to American communications.

It’s the second punt on Section 702 from Johnson, who first wanted to bring competing bills on the surveillance authority to the floor and have members vote directly on which version they preferred. Then he had to scrap his plan after members started publicly complaining that it was Johnson’s job to make a decision.

Congress has until mid-April to figure out a path forward on Section 702. But GOP leadership had pushed their ranks to move quickly this week as they prepare to head out of town until Feb. 28. Once the House returns, the agenda will be dominated by back-to-back government funding deadlines and the very real threat of a shutdown amid a fight over the border and spending levels.

The decision appeared to catch members involved in the negotiations over the spy powers bill off guard. The announcement from the speaker’s office came during a Rules Committee meeting meant to tee up the bill, and potential amendments, for a floor vote on Thursday.

“That’s disappointing because, you know, you saw how good this meeting went,” Judiciary Committee Chair Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) told reporters.

Anthony Adragna contributed to this report.

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