WASHINGTON (AP) 鈥� Republicans are warning the White House that a is likely to lapse this week amid bipartisan backlash over President Donald Trump鈥檚 the nation鈥檚 intelligence community.
Sen. Tom Cotton, the chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, and Sen. Chuck Grassley, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, sounded the alarm over the weekend after a failed procedural vote to extend the program.
The senators in a letter urged Secretary of State Marco Rubio to prepare 鈥渇or a potential significant gap in foreign intelligence collection鈥� if the authority expires. Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, set to lapse June 12, allows agencies including the CIA, National Security Agency and FBI to collect communications from foreign targets overseas without a warrant.
Efforts to secure a long-term extension of the program because of bipartisan concerns that the program can incidentally collect Americans鈥� communications. Privacy advocates and some lawmakers have been pushing to create a new warrant requirement before those communications can be searched.
Senate leaders from both parties appeared to be nearing agreement on a long-term extension. But the effort collapsed after Trump selected federal housing finance regulator Bill Pulte to serve as acting director of national intelligence.
鈥淚 know how important this tool is. Why the president would throw this live hand grenade of Bill Pulte in 10 days before this is due to expire, I’m not sure,” Sen. Mark Warner, the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, said on ABC’s 鈥淭his Week.鈥�
Pulte pick upends bipartisan deal
Early Friday morning, after senators spent the night debating separate immigration legislation, seven Republicans joined nearly all Democrats in blocking a long-term extension of the surveillance authority.
Democrats and several Republicans registered their opposition to Trump鈥檚 selection of Pulte, arguing the federal housing finance regulator lacks the experience needed to oversee the nation鈥檚 18 intelligence agencies.
鈥淭he naming of Pulte to that position, although the timing arguably wasn鈥檛 the best, I still don鈥檛 think it ought to derail something that鈥檚 this important,鈥� Senate Majority Leader John Thune said.
Thune has expressed concern over Pulte’s pick, saying the nation鈥檚 top intelligence post should not be 鈥渨eaponized鈥� and that the job should be filled by 鈥減rofessionals.鈥� Cotton, who rarely strays from supporting Trump and a leading advocate for the surveillance authority, declined to endorse Pulte, saying only that he had 鈥渘o observations on the matter.鈥�
鈥淗e鈥檚 not qualified for the long-term position,鈥� Republican Sen. James Lankford, another member of the Intelligence Committee, told 鈥淔ox 草莓传媒 Sunday.鈥� 鈥淭hat鈥檚 been clear on this. He has no national security background.鈥�
Both Republican and Democratic senators skeptical of Pulte pointed to his record at the Federal Housing Finance Agency. In the role, he’s been linked with criminal referrals over allegations of mortgage fraud by public officials Trump sought to punish, including New York Attorney General Letitia James, a Democrat; Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif.; and Lisa Cook, a board member of the Federal Reserve.
Republicans will need to garner some Democratic support to pass any extension of the surveillance authority in the Senate. But a breakthrough appears difficult so long as Pulte remains in the position, which Trump said last week would only be temporary.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 see any path to convincing enough Democrats,鈥� Warner said on CNN’s 鈥淪tate of the Union鈥� when asked if renewal was possible with Pulte in the position.
A key surveillance tool
The current reauthorization debate is hardly the first time that lawmakers have grappled with the fate of the surveillance program, particularly after a flurry of revelations about of the vast trove of intelligence it collects.
The topic in recent years has scrambled predictable partisan alliances, with Democratic critics of the Trump administration uniting with skeptics of government power on the right in voicing concerns about Section 702鈥檚 renewal.
In 2024, for instance, those divisions nearly caused the program to lapse. The Senate barely missed its midnight deadline that year before approving by a 60-34 margin legislation to reauthorize Section 702 that was subsequently signed by then-President Joe Biden.
A spokesperson at the Justice Department did not immediately return messages seeking comment Monday about the national security concerns that would be created if the program lapses. The Office of the Director of National Intelligence referred inquiries to the White House, which did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
“America faces real threats from foreign adversaries, terrorists, cyber actors, and hostile intelligence services,鈥� Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said on social media Sunday. 鈥淪ection 702 remains one of our nation鈥檚 most effective tools for identifying and disrupting those threats before they reach our shores.鈥�
Cotton and Grassley said they believed Democratic leaders would not support another short-term extension of the surveillance authority and urged Rubio to prepare contingency plans. They said Trump should consider an executive order to prevent a disruption in intelligence collection.
Cotton and Warner had said they were close on a bipartisan deal on a long-term extension and could still move quickly should a change occur before Friday. Still, the bill would likely need to go through the House 鈥� and the two chambers so far have disagreed on a separate issue regarding central banking digital currency.
鈥淚f we go dark next week, right before the World Cup FIFA games, and the 250th anniversary, that would be the most grossly irresponsible thing I鈥檝e seen Congress do in my 22 years in office,鈥� Texas Republican Rep. Michael McCaul said on ABC鈥檚 鈥淭his Week.鈥�
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