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House panel tees up FISA renewal bill vote as Mike Johnson faces revolt from GOP privacy hawks
By Adam Pack
Published April 28, 2026
House GOP leadership’s plan to extend a powerful government surveillance program survived a critical hurdle, even as GOP privacy hawks threaten to stop the measure in its tracks on the House floor.
The House Rules Committee on Tuesday evening teed up a chamber-wide vote on a three-year extension of Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) as Republicans remain sharply divided over the program. The procedural measure includes a separate central bank digital currency (CBDC) ban desired by privacy hawks, but stops short of adopting a warrant requirement that could be key to winning over conservative holdouts.
The rules panel rejected several amendments with bipartisan support that would have required a warrant requirement to collect data on Americans during the marathon session.
"I'd like to see at least that it's voted on, and then let the will of the body talk," Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C., who is noncommittal about supporting a FISA renewal bill, told Fox News Digital in an interview.
House Speaker Mike Johnson speaks during a press conference at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 13, 2026. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
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The committee action, postponed nearly a day after Republicans initially failed to reach an agreement Monday night, comes as House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., races to pass an extension of the spy law before it lapses on April 30.
Republican leadership is expected to put the measure on the House floor for a procedural vote Wednesday morning. Johnson can likely spare just a handful of GOP votes if Democrats line up in widespread opposition against the FISA renewal bill.
The postponed committee business also delays consideration of a budget blueprint to fund immigration enforcement and a sweeping bill authorizing agriculture and nutrition priorities known as the farm bill, which GOP leadership is hoping to pass on the floor this week.
Democrats on the House Rules Committee blasted Republicans for not allowing a chamber-wide vote on a warrant requirement amendment to the bill.
"I've yet to hear a compelling argument why the full House shouldn't debate and vote on this," Rep. Jim McGovern, D-Mass., said.
House Rules Committee Chairwoman Virginia Foxx, R-N.C., fired back that reforms Congress made to the legislation in 2024 enacted adequate privacy guardrails to the spy law.
"I'm convinced that this has been fixed as long as we have Republicans in office," Foxx said. "I believe it is fixed. The president has asked for a clean extension because the problems with it before, when he was being spied on, he believes have been fixed."
A swath of House conservatives, who voted down two previous proposals offered by GOP leadership, have so far withheld their support for reauthorizing Section 702 absent reforms.
Rep. Jim McGovern, D-Mass., ripped Republicans on the House panel for punting consideration of a procedural measure teeing up a vote on Section 702 of FISA, among other legislation. (Tom Williams/Getty Images)
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The spy tool allows the government to surveil foreigners abroad who use U.S. platforms even when those communications involve Americans. A mix of conservatives and progressives have long advocated for changes to the program to force intelligence officials to obtain a warrant prior to reviewing Americans’ data.
Several conservative lawmakers on Monday criticized leadership’s proposal as a minor reworking of the original 18-month extension bill that failed on the House floor.
"Really what we're doing is taking existing law improvements based on two years ago, making some improvements on penalties and on some FISA transparency… but not going further with respect to warrant protections for American citizens on warrantless surveillance," Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, a key member of the House Freedom Caucus (HFC), said during debate on the measure in the House Rules Committee.
The Trump administration has pushed for a clean reauthorization of the program, citing the law’s critical national security role. Proponents of the spy law have hailed its ability to gather intelligence that has stopped potential terrorist attacks and drug trafficking.
Rep. Warren Davidson, R-Ohio, a notable GOP privacy hawk, offered his support for the three-year FISA extension during a post on social media last week.
"Collectively, this set of reforms provides robust privacy protections for American citizens. Congress should bank this win and reauthorize Section 702," Davidson said. "Then, we should swiftly begin gutting the unmitigated surveillance state left growing unchecked during these 702 fights."
Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, a member of the House Rules Committee, is pushing for amendments to the three-year FISA renewal bill drafted by House leadership. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
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House Democratic leadership previewed their objections to Republicans’ FISA reauthorization plan on Monday. Widespread Democratic opposition means Johnson could afford to spare just a handful of GOP defections during a critical procedural vote that could occur as early as Tuesday afternoon.
"This surveillance mechanism could be abused by the likes of individuals like Kash Patel and the acting attorney general," House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., said during a news conference Monday. "These people have weaponized the criminal justice system, and they simply cannot be trusted to protect the privacy and the civil liberties of the American people."
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/mike-johnson-faces-revolt-from-gop-privacy-hawks-threatening-kill-fisa-renewal-deadline-looms