Will Confirmation Of Trump’s New DNI Revive Fed’s Favorite Warrantless Spying Tool?

Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) does not appear destined for a quick reauthorization, even after Jay Clayton was confirmed as director of national intelligence (DNI).

Senate Republicans scheduled Clayton’s confirmation unusually fast following his nomination because they faced pressure to reauthorize Section 702, a warrantless government spying tool, after it lapsed on June 12. Senate Democrats initially voted against its reauthorization in response to President Donald Trump tapping Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte to be acting DNI, though they did not appear willing to support reauthorizing it anytime soon even after the upper chamber confirmed Clayton.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said Democrats would not consider passing Section 702 until Pulte was officially out of office. However, the minority leader stated that while his party wanted Section 702 reenacted, it needed reforms.

“Well, first we have to make sure [acting DNI Bill] Pulte is out, and second, many of us want to get 702 enacted, but it needs some reforms,” Schumer told the Daily Caller News Foundation.

Schumer’s office did not respond to the DCNF’s follow-up question about which reforms the senator was specifically referring to.

Democratic Connecticut Sen. Chris Murphy told the DCNF he would still not support Section 702 because it has “underlying problems,” naming the need for a warrant as an example.

“I have underlying problems with the way Section 702 is designed,” Murphy said. [A lack of a warrant is] one of the problems.”

Seven Senate Republicans, including Mike Lee of Utah and Josh Hawley of Missouri, voted against reauthorizing the warrantless spying tool in a June 5 procedural vote. Lee and others argued the government should obtain a warrant before gathering Americans’ data.

A spokesperson for Lee told the DCNF that there likely would not be a push to reauthorize Section 702 for another year, but Lee would continue pushing for reforms.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune’s office accused Democrats of understanding the said “dangers” of allowing Section 702 to go dark, but voted against it anyways. They accused Democrats of caving to “their far-left base” by opposing the confirmation of Clayton.

Democratic Oregon Sen. Ron Wyden did not appear eager to reauthorize the warrantless spying tool as Trump allegedly had “no plan for intelligence.”

“Look, Trump has had no plan for Intel. He’s had no plan for intelligence for months and months, and I assume that’s going to continue,” Wyden said.

Democratic Sens. Cory Booker of New Jersey, Mark Warner of Virginia, Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, Patty Murray of Washington, Kirsten Gillibrand of New York, Mark Kelly of Arizona, Republican Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas and Republican Sen. James Lankford of Oklahoma did not respond to the DCNF’s requests for comment.

The Senate confirmed Clayton in a 51-47 party-line vote, making him the permanent replacement for former DNI Tulsi Gabbard. Senate Democrats became frustrated with Clayton during his confirmation hearing after he refused to say outright that former President Joe Biden won the 2020 election.

Republicans initially planned to accelerate Clayton’s confirmation, though Trump requested a postponement on June 17 to confirm another attorney for the Southern District of New York. Cotton, the chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, announced the postponement of Clayton’s scheduled confirmation hearing.

Trump threatened to oppose reauthorizing Section 702 unless the Safeguard America Voter Eligibility (SAVE) America Act were attached.