Overview
- President Trump accepted an invitation from Sen. Rick Scott and will attend the Senate GOP Steering lunch on Wednesday to press senators to back the SAVE America Act.
- Trump publicly tied renewal of Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act to passage of the SAVE Act in a Truth Social post, contributing to a current lapse in the surveillance authority.
- Senate Majority Leader John Thune has told the president and reporters that the SAVE Act lacks the votes in the Senate and that attaching it to a FISA reauthorization is not realistic.
- White House moves this month — keeping Bill Pulte as acting DNI, delaying Jay Clayton’s confirmation, and proposing an anti-weaponization fund — have aggravated Senate leaders and complicated bipartisan deals.
- GOP senators warn that making Section 702 renewal contingent on the controversial voting bill could extend the lapse into July, fracture Republican unity before the midterms, and imperil a must-pass national security measure.