House rejects last-minute extension for key FISA spy power amid Bill Pulte uproar
Source: CBS News
Updated on: June 11, 2026 / 10:36 AM EDT / CBS News
Washington — The House on Thursday defeated a last-ditch effort to extend a key spy authority until early July, after President Trump's pick for director of national intelligence rattled lawmakers. The authority, known as Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, is set to expire Friday. Congress has twice punted on the issue since the original deadline in April.
The measure to push back the deadline to July 2 failed to clear the House in a 198 to 218 vote. House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Louisiana Republican, fast-tracked the measure, meaning it needed a two-thirds majority for passage. Mr. Trump upended a bipartisan compromise to renew Section 702 for three years when he announced his decision last week to appoint housing regulator Bill Pulte as acting director of national intelligence. In the role, Pulte will oversee all of the nation's spy agencies.
Democrats said they would not support a renewal with Pulte installed at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. They cited his lack of a national security background and his controversial tenure at the Federal Housing Finance Agency, during which he accused several of Mr. Trump's foes of mortgage fraud. The choice also elicited pushback from some Republicans.
In a statement ahead of the vote, House Democratic leadership said Pulte's appointment is in "defiance" of the law that requires the intelligence chief to have national security experience and they "cannot in good conscience vote for reauthorization without significant reforms" to the FISA statute.
Read more: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/house-vote-extension-fisa-702-spy-power-bill-pulte-uproar-trump/
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House votes against extending controversial wiretapping law set to lapse Friday
Lawmakers are deadlocked over Trump's pick for the nation's top intelligence post.
June 11, 2026 at 11:14 a.m. EDT18 minutes ago
5 min
Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte, who is President Donald Trump's pick to lead the intelligence community, speaks at the White House in January. (Kevin Lamarque/Reuters)
By Noah Robertson and Mariana Alfaro
The House of Representatives on Thursday rejected a last-minute attempt to extend a controversial warrantless-surveillance law, as Democrats continue to protest President Donald Trump's decision to temporarily place Bill Pulte, a mortgage agency director and MAGA loyalist, atop the U.S. intelligence community.
The vote failed 218-198, with 19 Republicans joining nearly all Democrats in opposing the bill. It would have required a two-thirds majority to advance under the parliamentary tool House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) used to quickly bring the legislation to the floor.
The result all but ensures that Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, a post-9/11 spy tool that both parties have argued is critical to U.S. national security, will lapse for the first time. ... The program is due to expire Friday at midnight, with lawmakers set to leave Washington on Thursday without a deal.
House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-Louisiana) blamed Senate Democrats for blocking FISA, saying the upper chamber should have advanced a House-passed bill to fully reauthorize FISA in April. Instead, the Senate approved a short-term measure that the House adopted and which expires Friday. ... The Senate had signaled that the House bill passed in April stood no chance of clearing the chamber's 60-vote threshold.
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By Noah Robertson
Noah Robertson joined the Washington Post in 2025, where he covers the core national security committees in Congress. He previously covered the Pentagon and American politics from gun control to policing. follow on X@noahjrobertson
https://www.washingtonpost.com/people/noah-robertson/
By Mariana Alfaro
Mariana Alfaro is a reporter for The Washington Post's breaking political news team. She joined The Post in 2019. She can be reached via Signal at mariana_alfaro.10.follow on X@marianaa_alfaro
https://www.washingtonpost.com/people/mariana-alfaro/
