As the House decided on changes to the US's domestic spying system (FISA), Republican Speaker of the House Mike Johnson saw his party rebel on another important rule vote.
Members of the House Freedom Caucus led a revolt that stopped a vote on Wednesday to move the bill forward. They were angry that the planned changes would not make FBI agents get a request from a judge before they could read Americans' private messages. Members who were angry that the rule vote did not go through gathered on the House steps and said that Mr. Johnson had voted against an amendment that would have made that important change to the law.
The FBI kept an eye on Donald Trump's 2016 presidential campaign because it was suspected of talking or working with Russia. He launched a big effort in favor of stricter changes to the law, which is thought to have helped defeat the vote.
I said, "Kill FISA. It was used illegally against me and many others. "THEY SPIED ON MY CAMPAIGN!!!" he wrote on Truth Social earlier Wednesday.
Speaker Johnson and his supporters told the GOP conference meeting on Wednesday that if today's vote failed, it would probably lead to the passage of a clean bill to renew the program.
After the vote failed, the speaker told reporters, "We will get back together and come up with another plan."
He also said, "We can not let this important part of the law expire."
Freedom Caucus members who talked to media after the vote failed, on the other hand, blamed Mr. Johnson for not being able to get them on board.
"That is pretty much the end of it," Rep. Chip Roy of Texas said in a group. "The Speaker of the House put his finger on the scale against the amendment."
"Let us bring up the right bill." It is possible to do it tomorrow."
Ohio Representative Scott Perry also said bad things about the speaker: "It is the same old establishment swap tactics that we had to deal with under John Boehner and then under Paul Ryan." That is over for now.
Some people who spoke after the vote, like Florida Rep. Byron Donalds, said that the loss on Wednesday was just political "sausagemaking" and not a sign of bigger problems in the house. One of 19 Republicans, Mr. Donalds, voted against the rule so that the bill could move forward.
He also said that he was worried about FISA: "During the FISA process, the FBI broke the law almost 300,000 times." We need to change that. The Constitution of the United States and the civil freedoms of the American people depend on that. It is not a Republican or a Democrat thing.
When reporters asked the Republicans in the room if they would support Marjorie Taylor Greene's motion to remove her as speaker, none of them were ready to bring it up. So far, not a single Republican has agreed with Ms. Greene's motion, and some Democrats have said they might vote against it.
Mr. Roy said, "I am not going to go that way right now."
They were going to get together again this afternoon to figure out what to do next with the FISA reauthorization bill. Also, Ms. Greene and Mr. Johnson met. It was their first one-on-one since the Georgia representative filed her move to vacate, but they did not come away from the meeting with their difference fixed.
"There was no deal when we left. "As a Republican in the House, I understand how the base feels and what Republican voters want better than anyone else, and he agreed with me," she told a group of people.
There have always been clear policy differences within the GOP party, but there are signs in the chamber that they may not be able to pass legislation. The majority is having a hard time getting votes on its own goals, but funding votes keep going through the chamber with the help of Democrats in the minority, often against the wishes of conservatives who keep pushing for deeper spending cuts or other policy riders. At the same time, the body is clearly tired as conservatives back down from their threats to replace Mr. Johnson with another Republican.
People who fight for civil rights have long said that the FISA system is dangerous for Americans whose calls are being listened in on by people in other countries. Right now, you do not need an order to read the messages of foreigners, but in many situations, this also includes messages sent to and from Americans.
If Congress does not reauthorize the law before it expires on April 19, the FBI will no longer be able to legally spy on people living abroad without an order. The agency has also spoken out against the need for an order to read conversations with Americans, saying that the delays would make the law less useful.
"While it is very important that we make sure this important authority of 702 does not expire, we also must not make this important tool less useful by requiring a warrant or some other similar restriction that would stop us from dealing with threats that change quickly," said FBI Director Christopher Wray on Tuesday.
Members of the House Freedom Caucus led a revolt that stopped a vote on Wednesday to move the bill forward. They were angry that the planned changes would not make FBI agents get a request from a judge before they could read Americans' private messages. Members who were angry that the rule vote did not go through gathered on the House steps and said that Mr. Johnson had voted against an amendment that would have made that important change to the law.
The FBI kept an eye on Donald Trump's 2016 presidential campaign because it was suspected of talking or working with Russia. He launched a big effort in favor of stricter changes to the law, which is thought to have helped defeat the vote.
I said, "Kill FISA. It was used illegally against me and many others. "THEY SPIED ON MY CAMPAIGN!!!" he wrote on Truth Social earlier Wednesday.
Speaker Johnson and his supporters told the GOP conference meeting on Wednesday that if today's vote failed, it would probably lead to the passage of a clean bill to renew the program.
After the vote failed, the speaker told reporters, "We will get back together and come up with another plan."
He also said, "We can not let this important part of the law expire."
Freedom Caucus members who talked to media after the vote failed, on the other hand, blamed Mr. Johnson for not being able to get them on board.
"That is pretty much the end of it," Rep. Chip Roy of Texas said in a group. "The Speaker of the House put his finger on the scale against the amendment."
"Let us bring up the right bill." It is possible to do it tomorrow."
Ohio Representative Scott Perry also said bad things about the speaker: "It is the same old establishment swap tactics that we had to deal with under John Boehner and then under Paul Ryan." That is over for now.
Some people who spoke after the vote, like Florida Rep. Byron Donalds, said that the loss on Wednesday was just political "sausagemaking" and not a sign of bigger problems in the house. One of 19 Republicans, Mr. Donalds, voted against the rule so that the bill could move forward.
He also said that he was worried about FISA: "During the FISA process, the FBI broke the law almost 300,000 times." We need to change that. The Constitution of the United States and the civil freedoms of the American people depend on that. It is not a Republican or a Democrat thing.
When reporters asked the Republicans in the room if they would support Marjorie Taylor Greene's motion to remove her as speaker, none of them were ready to bring it up. So far, not a single Republican has agreed with Ms. Greene's motion, and some Democrats have said they might vote against it.
Mr. Roy said, "I am not going to go that way right now."
They were going to get together again this afternoon to figure out what to do next with the FISA reauthorization bill. Also, Ms. Greene and Mr. Johnson met. It was their first one-on-one since the Georgia representative filed her move to vacate, but they did not come away from the meeting with their difference fixed.
"There was no deal when we left. "As a Republican in the House, I understand how the base feels and what Republican voters want better than anyone else, and he agreed with me," she told a group of people.
There have always been clear policy differences within the GOP party, but there are signs in the chamber that they may not be able to pass legislation. The majority is having a hard time getting votes on its own goals, but funding votes keep going through the chamber with the help of Democrats in the minority, often against the wishes of conservatives who keep pushing for deeper spending cuts or other policy riders. At the same time, the body is clearly tired as conservatives back down from their threats to replace Mr. Johnson with another Republican.
People who fight for civil rights have long said that the FISA system is dangerous for Americans whose calls are being listened in on by people in other countries. Right now, you do not need an order to read the messages of foreigners, but in many situations, this also includes messages sent to and from Americans.
If Congress does not reauthorize the law before it expires on April 19, the FBI will no longer be able to legally spy on people living abroad without an order. The agency has also spoken out against the need for an order to read conversations with Americans, saying that the delays would make the law less useful.
"While it is very important that we make sure this important authority of 702 does not expire, we also must not make this important tool less useful by requiring a warrant or some other similar restriction that would stop us from dealing with threats that change quickly," said FBI Director Christopher Wray on Tuesday.
