Rep. Thomas Massie, R-KY, wants Congress to add three words to America's surveillance law before it expires next month.
"The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act will expire soon," Massie wrote on X. "FBI Directors Mueller, Comey, Wray, and even Patel have used this law to unconstitutionally snoop on Americans without getting a warrant. It's easily fixed if/when reauthorized by Congress. Add 3 words: Get a Warrant!"
The Kentucky Republican is targeting Section 702 of FISA, which authorizes intelligence agencies to collect communications from foreign nationals abroad with cooperation from American technology companies. The problem is that millions of American communications get swept up in the process when citizens communicate with people overseas. Federal agencies, particularly the FBI, have routinely searched that data without obtaining warrants.
Congress last reauthorized the law in April 2024 but only granted a two year extension. Section 702 will expire at midnight on April 19, 2026 unless lawmakers act.
Massie has long championed the Massie-Lofgren Amendment, which would prohibit warrantless searches of Americans' online communications and data collected under the foreign intelligence program. Critics call the current practice a "backdoor search loophole" that violates Fourth Amendment protections against unreasonable searches.
By naming FBI directors spanning the Bush, Obama, Trump, and current administrations, Massie emphasized that warrantless surveillance is an institutional problem rather than a partisan one.
A warrant amendment to the 2024 FISA reauthorization bill failed by the narrowest possible margin in the House. The 212 to 212 tie saw the Speaker cast the deciding vote against requiring warrants. Democrats voted against the warrant requirement 84 to 126 while Republicans supported it 128 to 86.
Reformers are trying again. On March 12, Representatives Warren Davidson, R-OH, and Zoe Lofgren, D-CA, joined Sens. Ron Wyden, R-OR, and Mike Lee, R-UT, in introducing the Government Surveillance Reform Act. The legislation would require the government to obtain a warrant before accessing Americans' private communications gathered under Section 702.
The Brookings Institution notes the reauthorization presents a rare bipartisan opportunity to strengthen civil liberties protections while preserving legitimate intelligence operations.
A sound domestic policy must begin with protecting the constitutional rights of American citizens from their own government's surveillance apparatus. FISA Section 702 represents exactly the kind of unconstitutional overreach that the Founders warned against when they enshrined warrant requirements in the Fourth Amendment. Congress should either add a warrant requirement to this law or let it expire entirely because no intelligence program is worth sacrificing the fundamental liberties that define the American republic.
