Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., and fellow Republicans celebrate GOP tax policies at an event outside the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, April 15, 2026. (AP Photo\/J. Scott Applewhite)<\/small><\/p>\n
2026-04-17T04:19:54Z<\/p>\n
WASHINGTON (AP) \u2014 The House rushed early Friday to renew a controversial surveillance program<\/a><\/span> used by U.S. spy agencies that is set to expire in a matter of days, unveiling several changes and calling lawmakers back to session for a middle-of-the-night vote.<\/p>\n Republican leaders rolled out a new proposal that would extend the program for five years with changes \u2014 far from the clean renewal President Donald Trump has demanded and Speaker Mike Johnson had previously backed.<\/p>\n Democrats late Thursday blasted the process ahead of votes expected early Friday.<\/p>\n \u201cDoes anybody actually know what the hell is in this thing?\u201d Massachusetts Rep. Jim McGovern said after the proposal was unveiled.<\/p>\n At the center of the standoff that has stretched throughout the week is Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, which permits the CIA, National Security Agency, FBI and other agencies to collect and analyze vast amounts of overseas communications without a warrant. In doing so, they can incidentally sweep up communications involving Americans who interact with foreign targets.<\/p>\n Its path to passage has teetered all week in a familiar fight, as lawmakers weigh civil liberties concerns against intelligence officials\u2019 warnings about national security risks. The program is set to expire April 20 and still must pass the Senate.<\/p>\n \u201cThere are a lot of opinions,\u201d Johnson said earlier Thursday. \u201cWe want to make sure that we have this very important tool for national security, but we also do it in a way that jealously guards constitutional rights.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n![\"JOEY](\"https:\/\/dims.apnews.com\/dims4\/default\/cba6c71\/2147483647\/strip\/true\/crop\/400x400+0+0\/resize\/100x100!\/quality\/90\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fassets.apnews.com%2F30%2F83%2F382059184d4ca328cdcefd3cfe48%2Fghynv-lf-400x400.jpg\")
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