Mike Johnson delays FISA renewal vote after conservative revolt
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House Speaker Mike Johnson at the U.S. Capitol on April 14. Photo: Alex Wong/Getty Images
GOP leaders postponed the initial vote on reauthorizing FISA on Wednesday as a bloc of conservatives threatened to tank the bill.
Why it matters: The White House and GOP leadership have been pushing for a clean 18-month extension of the surveillance authority, but members are still demanding changes.
- FISA will lapse on April 20 without congressional action, leaving little room for error.
- Conservatives are vowing to vote no on the procedural rule vote, where House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) can only afford to lose two members.
- It's not immediately clear whether GOP leadership will still hold a vote on the rule later Wednesday.
Driving the news: Conservative lawmakers are demanding an amendment vote on warrant requirements.
- Johnson has previously said that addition would make the program "unworkable."
- But GOP leadership and the Trump administration are showing new openness to compromise as talks intensify.
- If leadership agrees to allow a vote on warrant requirements, holdouts would accept an even longer extension of the program through the rest of Trump's term, one House Republican involved in talks told Axios.
"I'm for the clean [extension], but I'm open to whatever gets it done," House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio.) told reporters Tuesday.
Flashback: An amendment on warrant requirements failed on a tie during the 2024 FISA reauthorization.
- Proponents of warrant requirements are confident it could pass this time.
Catch up quick: Trump hosted the FISA-skeptical lawmakers at the White House Tuesday night, but the last-ditch effort didn't sway holdouts — some of whom weren't even in attendance.
- Rep. Andy Biggs (R-Ariz), a leading advocate on warrant requirements, told Axios he wasn't invited.
- "I need to be talking to somebody at the White House. And they don't really want me there. I guess I know too much about how this works," Biggs said.
Friction point: There's also a group of members threatening to vote "no" on the rule unless the SAVE America Act is attached.
- Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.) has said she will vote "no" without it.
- Adding the elections bill would render FISA dead on arrival in the Senate.
What's next: Lawmakers will continue to negotiate around changes throughout the next few hours, with leadership still hoping to get the reauthorization across the finish line Wednesday.
