Donald Trump demands Congress ignore privacy concerns and extend intrusive law to spy on Americans’ private communications

Donald Trump is demanding Congress ignore growing privacy concerns and push through a straight extension of the Section 702 spy program.

Section 702 is a foreign spy program that allows the government to collect communications of non-Americans located outside the United States. The catch, and where the privacy concerns come in, is that data from Americans gets swept up in the process. As a result, there were bipartisan efforts to add new restrictions to prevent the intelligence community from searching this program data for Americans without a specific warrant.

Per Politico, Senate Intelligence Committee Chair Tom Cotton confirmed “President Trump has requested a simple, clean extension and I support the commander-in-chief on this vital national-security decision.” It seems the president has communicated this demand directly to key Republican leaders on Capitol Hill, as the foreign intelligence surveillance authority is set to lapse on April 20.

The fact that this can be done without a warrant is what is worrisome

According to a congressional aide familiar with the discussions, Trump recently told Speaker Mike Johnson, House Intelligence Committee Chair Rick Crawford, and Judiciary Committee Chair Jim Jordan that he wanted this clean extension. Jim Himes, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, also confirmed this push, noting that Crawford had told him this week that Trump is advocating for an 18-month clean authorization.

This isn’t just a top-down push from the president either. Top White House staffers, including Stephen Miller, have been privately lobbying for the same. Some allies within the intelligence community have even floated the idea of going for an even longer extension, potentially up to three years.

Despite Trump’s strong backing, a clean extension faces a pretty uncertain future in the House. There’s a strong bipartisan coalition of “privacy hawks” who have consistently demanded sweeping changes to this surveillance power. People familiar with the vote-counting process don’t believe a clean extension can clear the two-thirds-majority bar needed for fast-track passage. 

Many GOP lawmakers and senior aides are skeptical that their own party could even unite behind the necessary procedural measure to bring it to the floor. Himes acknowledged that the administration has a “very good story” to tell about how previous changes made to Section 702 two years ago have helped curb privacy concerns. 

Himes also pointed out a significant challenge: while Trump’s vote of confidence could potentially rally Republicans, it might actually scare off some Democrats. Himes explained that many Democrats might question supporting the program now, given their perception of the president’s aggressive “disdain for the law” and for Congress. Do they really want to put sweeping surveillance powers in the hands of a man they see as a mad tyrant?