The House of Representatives failed to pass legislation renewing Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), a controversial provision allowing federal agencies to spy on noncitizens without a warrant.

Amid a strong push to “KILL FISA” from former President Donald Trump, more than a dozen Republican lawmakers voted against the measure, which would have renewed Section 702 for another five years.

Nineteen Republicans voted against their party leadership to tank a procedural vote that would have allowed for the House to debate and then vote on the bill itself. The final vote was 193 to 228.

The Reforming Intelligence and Securing America Act, a compromise bill between the House Judiciary Committee and the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, is aimed at curbing instances of abuse reported against Trump and others by instituting safeguards on who can access Section 702-collected data, particularly if it involves a U.S. citizen. It also would make it a crime to use backdoor loopholes to improperly access Americans' data.

But conservative critics of Section 702 have argued the bill does not go far enough to safeguard Americans' data.

Among the GOP lawmakers who blocked the bill were: House Freedom Caucus Chair Bob Good, R-Va.; Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C.; Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo.; Rep. Clay Higgins, R-La.; Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas; and Rep. Matt Rosendale, R-Mont.; among others.

THE FISA BILL WAS KILLED (for now)

Here are the Patriots who voted No on unconstitutional spying on Americans:

1. Good
2. Luna
3. Norman
4. Burchett
5. Boebert
6. Gosar
7. Gaetz
8. Bishop
9. Cloud
10. Crane
11. Higgins
12. Roy
13. Rosendale
14. Mills
15. Mace
16.… https://t.co/L3f1RI9IDy

— DC_Draino (@DC_Draino) April 10, 2024

In a post on Truth Social, former President Trump made his feelings on the matter clear: “KILL FISA.” The former president noted that the provision was “illegally used against me and others.”

Section 702 was originally intended to empower the federal government to conduct surveillance on foreign nationals outside of the country, especially those suspected of having ties to terrorism. However, the provision has been frequently abused by various agencies.

The number of searches has dropped precipitously:

The number of warrantless searches of Americans’ telephone calls, emails and text messages conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation plummeted last year, dropping from millions of searches to about 120,000, according to a U.S. intelligence report.

According to a report from the U.S. Office of the Director of National Intelligence, the number of warrantless searches of Americans’ communications conducted by the FBI dropped significantly in 2022. The searches decreased from millions to about 120,000, representing a decline of over 90 percent compared to the previous year.

Privacy hawks in Congress, including members of the Freedom Caucus, opposed the renewal package championed by House Speaker Mike Johnson due to the lack of robust measures intended to prevent such abuses from occurring.

If Congress fails to pass legislation renewing Section 702 by the April 19 deadline, it is poised to sunset. This could signal that the tool might no longer be available for federal agencies to use for surveillance purposes.