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The House has voted to reauthorize the nation’s warrantless surveillance powers, securing a bipartisan decision to continue the program for two more years. This extension of Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) passed in a significant 273-147 vote. Despite the bipartisan backing, the approval process was marked by a heated debate over privacy rights, particularly regarding searches involving Americans.

In the moments leading up to the bill’s passage, the House faced a critical vote on an amendment proposed by Rep. Andy Biggs. This amendment, which would have required warrants for some searches of Americans’ data, ended in a tie vote of 212-212, effectively failing. On one side, privacy advocates pushed for stricter controls, while on the other, security concerns held sway among members of the Intelligence Committee and the White House.

House Judiciary Committee Chair Jim Jordan, during the floor debate, emphasized the importance of the amendment, saying, “The underlying bill has got some changes and reforms that are positive, that are good — but short of having this warrant amendment added to the legislation, we shouldn’t pass it.” Meanwhile, the White House strongly opposed the warrant requirement, arguing that it would “rebuild a wall around, and thus block our access to, already lawfully collected information in the possession of the US Government.”

After navigating months of internal conflicts and concessions, Speaker Mike Johnson viewed the bill’s passage as a legislative victory. However, the final vote to approve the bill must move through other legislative hurdles before it can move to the Senate.