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4w ago

Congress Passes 45-Day Extension of Section 702 After Senate Rejects House Plan

The delay reflects unresolved fights over warrants for U.S. person searches.

A visitor captures a cell phone image of the Washington Monument, near the US Capitol on September 29, 2021.
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FILE - The moon emerges from the clouds over the U.S. Capitol dome in Washington, Dec. 2, 2025. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)
The U.S. Capitol in Washington D.C., U.S., February 13, 2026. REUTERS/Annabelle Gordon/File Photo

Overview

  • Congress approved a 45-day stopgap on Thursday, preventing a lapse of Section 702 and sending the clean extension to President Donald Trump for signature.
  • The Senate refused the House’s three-year reauthorization because it included a ban on a central bank digital currency, then advanced a short extension by voice vote that the House later passed 261-111.
  • Section 702 lets agencies collect communications of foreign targets without warrants, yet Americans’ messages can be swept in and later queried, and the House’s longer bill did not add a blanket warrant rule for those searches.
  • Following Wednesday’s 235-191 House vote for a three-year renewal with oversight tweaks, Senate leaders called the digital currency rider a poison pill, keeping long-term talks open.
  • Oversight records show rising FBI queries of Americans’ data, including a 35% jump to more than 7,000 searches in 2025 and 839 sensitive searches of figures like journalists and officials, and senators now seek to declassify a recent surveillance court opinion within 15 days as negotiations continue toward the June 12 deadline.