Cybersecurity Policy Report, End to Lapse in Surveillance Law Faces New Hurdle From Trump’s Changing Views, (Jun 15, 2026)
Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R., S.D.) today blamed Democrats for allowing section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) to lapse on Friday, but supporters of the law’s reauthorization might face a new hurdle created by President Trump.
Section 702 expired Friday night after Congress failed to reauthorize the law, which empowers U.S. intelligence agencies, with the help of U.S. service providers, to monitor the communications of foreigners who are overseas and considered national security threats. However, Americans’ communications are often swept up in section 702 surveillance when they communicate with a foreign intelligence target, and those communications can be searched by federal authorities under certain circumstances without a warrant.
Opposition to the law’s reauthorization was fueled by Democrats and Republicans who view the government’s use of it to access Americans’ communications as “warrantless” surveillance. But House and Senate leadership pushed reauthorization legislation that didn’t include a warrant requirement (CPR, June 11).
Although lawmakers who voted against reauthorization included Republicans, Sen. Thune today blamed Democrats. “Thanks to Democrats’ actions, the nation is currently operating without the full capacity of its most critical intelligence-gathering tool,” he said.
Any opportunity to reauthorize the law will have to wait until the House reconvenes on June 22. But President Trump, who previously had called for a clean, long-term reauthorization of the law, today indicated that he wouldn’t back reauthorization unless it was tied to adoption of the SAVE America Act, legislation that would require voters to show proof of citizenship.
“The Dumocrats want FISA because that’s what they used to go after me for three years during my First Term!” the president said in a social media post. “I’m against FISA if it doesn’t come with The Save America Act (Full version!) firmly attached to it.”
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