A major national security vote is approaching in Congress as Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act faces expiration next week unless lawmakers approve an extension before April 20.
President Donald Trump urged Republicans on Tuesday to rally behind an 18-month renewal of the authority, calling on members of his party to “UNIFY” in support of the measure.
Trump said he has been working with House Speaker Mike Johnson and other Republican lawmakers to secure passage of what he described as a clean extension through the House this week.
Section 702 was first enacted in 2008. It permits the U.S. government to collect communications involving foreign nationals believed to be located outside the United States, with assistance from electronic service providers.
Unlike traditional surveillance requests, the authority allows intelligence collection without obtaining an individualized warrant for every target.
Federal officials have stated that communications involving Americans can be incidentally gathered when U.S. citizens communicate with foreign individuals under surveillance.
The FBI previously disclosed that between 2020 and 2021, agents conducted 278,000 improper or “unintentional” database searches involving Americans’ private communications collected under Section 702 authorities.
Those searches included checks involving Jan. 6 demonstrators, campaign donors, and Black Lives Matter protesters, according to previously released information.
Republican lawmakers including Sens. Josh Hawley and Mike Lee have criticized the surveillance program after those disclosures became public.
Trump had previously called for ending FISA authorities during the 2024 campaign cycle. His latest position marks a shift as he now says Section 702 is needed for defense and intelligence operations.
In a Tuesday statement, Trump said he had been subjected to unlawful use of FISA powers during the 2016 presidential race and accused political opponents of misusing the system.
He said, “When the Dirty Cop, James Comey, the failed Head of the FBI, went after me, he was using FISA Title I, the Domestic Collection, not FISA 702, the Foreign Collection, which needs to be extended to.”
Trump’s remarks referenced surveillance tied to the FBI’s Crossfire Hurricane investigation into members of his 2016 campaign.
During that investigation, the FBI obtained court approval to monitor former campaign adviser Carter Page under FISA Title I.
The Department of Justice inspector general later concluded that applications related to Page contained “17 significant inaccuracies and omissions.”
Trump said he understands surveillance powers could potentially be used against him again but stated he is “willing to risk that as a Citizen in order to do what is right for our Country.”
He also argued that military leaders consider Section 702 essential. Trump said the authority is one reason the United States has seen battlefield success involving Venezuela and Iran.
“The fact is, whether you like FISA or not, it is extremely important to our Military,” Trump said. “I have spoken to many Generals about this, and they consider it VITAL.”
Last month, Trump issued a similar message on Truth Social, where he said reforms added during the most recent reauthorization should remain in place to protect Americans from abuse.
On Tuesday, the House Rules Committee advanced legislation providing a clean extension of Section 702, setting up a floor vote ahead of the expiration deadline.
Even with Trump backing the measure, Republican support is not guaranteed. Reports indicated several GOP lawmakers intend to vote against the extension.
That opposition could complicate efforts by Johnson and House leadership to pass the measure before the authority expires.
If Congress fails to act in time, Section 702 would lapse, removing a surveillance tool widely used by intelligence agencies for foreign intelligence collection.
