House Democrats convened virtually Monday night to talk strategy ahead of next week when two major bills — FISA reauthorization and funding for the Department of Homeland Security — will be on their plate.
Here’s one piece of news: Rep. Jim Himes (D-Conn.), ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee, signaled he’d support a clean reauthorization of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, per multiple sources on the call.
FISA needs reforms, Himes said, but Congress shouldn’t allow it to lapse when the deadline comes up on April 20.
Republicans may very well need Democratic votes to reauthorize FISA because hardline conservatives are demanding changes to the legislation. Speaker Mike Johnson, the White House and House Intelligence Committee Chair Rick Crawford (R-Ark.) are all pushing for a clean 18-month extension.
But it’s not yet clear how FISA will come to the floor, as we just explained above. If Republican leaders allow a bunch of amendment votes to appease GOP conservatives, it’s possible that Democratic support will disappear.
FISA reauthorization consistently sparks debate over whether its benefit to national security outweighs its potential infringement on privacy and civil liberties.
Coming up. House Democratic leaders also stressed the need for strong attendance in the coming weeks when Congress returns from recess.
We don’t yet know when the House will consider the Senate-passed bill to fund all of DHS except ICE and CBP. Democrats expect to see few defections on this bill because it doesn’t fund the agencies executing President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown.
