Senate rejects House's FISA bill, pitches 45-day extension ahead of looming deadline

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Congress passes short-term FISA 702 extension

Fox News chief congressional correspondent Chad Pergram reports on the 13-day FISA extension. Rep. Ben Cline, R-Va., discusses the measure and Virginia’s controversial redistricting vote on 'Fox Report.'

The Senate scrapped the House’s reauthorization of the nation’s controversial spying powers and is instead moving on a temporary extension to the program.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., told Fox News Digital that the upper chamber would extend the divisive Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) for 45 days as lawmakers continue to work on reforms to the program.

"We'll kick it over there and process it quickly, and we'll kick the can down the road again," Thune said.

The maneuver comes after the House on Wednesday passed a three-year extension to the program with modest reforms that included a ban on central bank digital currencies — a priority of conservatives in the lower chamber.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., talks to reporters before entering the Senate chamber in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 5, 2026. (Heather Diehl/Getty Images)

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But the inclusion of that provision was a nonstarter in the Senate, given that it was unrelated to the underlying bill and was already baked into a housing affordability package passed by the Senate in March that the House has yet to move on.