Speaker Mike Johnson has a critical test ahead of him as he navigates competing Republican priorities in legislation to reauthorize a key FBI spy asset.
Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) specifically allows intelligence agencies to conduct unauthorized surveillance. It is intended for use on foreign citizens to stop terrorist attacks, but countless Americans have been caught up in it.
FISA is set to expire at the end of this year unless Congress takes action — and Republicans want it to include significant reforms to ensure there is no future abuse of the program.
But here's where things get tricky: Two Republican Party-led committees are advancing different versions of their reauthorization bills.
Earlier Monday, Speaker Johnson had plans to bring up both this week — one from the judiciary and one from Intel — in a “queen of the hill” style to see which bill gains more support. But after pushing back on that decision, neither bill will be brought up for a vote this week.
That decision comes after far-right Republicans in the House Freedom Caucus showed early signs of frustration with Johnson over his handling of the FISA reauthorization.
Speaker Johnson has said he supports the short-term extension to get the FISA renewal bill into a better place before its final passage.
“We feel he is not listening,” a member supporting the judiciary bill told DailyMail.com.
Days after saying he would not include the FISA expansion in the national defense bill, the NDAA, Johnson changed course and said the expanded legislation would include an extension of FISA through April 19.
As a result, the Freedom Caucus has issued an ominous threat in opposition to the NDAA's inclusion of FISA.
“Any reauthorization of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) should only be considered with significant reforms and as a stand-alone measure,” the statement said.
“Under no circumstances should an extension be tied to 'must pass' legislation such as the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA),” the roughly 50-member caucus said in a statement.
“The members of the House Freedom Caucus are prepared to use all available resources to change the status quo.”
To solve FISA in the longer term and appease his far-right colleagues, Johnson plans to put the competing bills in the House of Representatives and see which one gets the most votes.
FISA reauthorization is a rare debate where the two sides do not fall along party lines, with Democrats supporting both the Intel and Judiciary plans.
Many Republicans disagree with the approach of putting bills on the floor by two committee chairmen.
“We need to extend FISA for four months and agree on one bill,” Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C., told DailyMail.com. “The majority does not know the details that Intel knows and the judiciary does.”
Asked why Johnson “can't make any decisions,” Chief Judge Jim Jordan told reporters: “You'd have to ask him that.”
Johnson wrote in a letter from a dear colleague on Thursday that he would table both the Intel bill and the judiciary bill “under a special rule that gives members a fair opportunity to vote in favor of the measure they prefer.”
He also said the extension of the NDAA “provides the necessary time to facilitate the reform process in a manner that will not conflict with our existing appropriations deadlines and other conflicts.”
The judiciary's version of the bill addresses issues where Section 702 threatens the constitutional right to privacy, allowing U.S. intelligence officials to dig up dirt on Americans in the database without a warrant.
Others, especially those on the House Intelligence Committee, believe that any lapse in FISA reauthorization could threaten national security.
The House Judiciary Committee led by Jim Jordan introduced a bill last week that would revise the law to require surveillance warrants except in the case of a cybersecurity threat or other potential immediate harm.
The bill from the Intelligence Committee led by Mike Turner would reauthorize Section 702 for eight years and would require the FBI to show probable cause before searching the database for Americans.
The House Judiciary Committee led by Representative Jim Jordan introduced a bill last week
Mike Turner, chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, told DailyMail.com that reforms will 'significantly reduce' FISA abuse
FISA is also under scrutiny because its separate authority under Title I also led to the controversial surveillance of former Trump adviser Carter Page.
A letter DailyMail.com first obtained last week from hardline Trump officials Bill Barr, Robert O'Brien, Mike Pompeo and others to Johnson urges the new speaker to approve an extension that includes meaningful reforms – but no warrant requirements, they say. could 'impair national security'.
The Intelligence Committee's version also has the support of leading law enforcement groups, including the Major County Sheriffs of America, the National Sheriffs' Association, the Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association and the NY Uniformed Firefighter's Association.