Momentum to reauthorize the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act completely stalled out Wednesday, with a procedural vote on a reform bill resoundingly failing on the House floor. The breakdown in negotiations happened in the wake of Donald Trump calling on Congress to kill the intelligence program altogether.
House Speaker Mike Johnson told lawmakers to expect a vote on the bill this week, but by mid-morning Wednesday, several Republican lawmakers said they did not want to move forward with the legislation on the House floor. Nineteen Republicans voted against a rule on the FISA reauthorization bill.
“We will regroup and reformulate another plan. We cannot allow Section 702 of FISA to expire,” Johnson told reporters after the rule failed.