April 16 (Reuters) – The U.S. House Republican leadership is closing in on a Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) extension with small reforms, Politico reported on Thursday, citing four people involved in the talks.
U.S. President Donald Trump called upon Republican lawmakers on Tuesday to work together to extend a law that allows American spy agencies to surveil foreigners abroad using data drawn from U.S. digital infrastructure, before the authorization expires.
The authorization is set to expire on April 20.
A procedural vote started at approximately 12:15 a.m. Friday. The final passage vote is scheduled for approximately 2:15 a.m.
Trump said on Tuesday that Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA 702), which is one of a suite of authorizations passed after the September 11, 2001, attacks, is vital for the U.S. military, and Republicans need to stick together to extend it.
Critics have argued that FISA violates Americans’ constitutional right to privacy.
(Reporting by Akanksha Khushi in Bengaluru; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman and Lincoln Feast.)
