In the early dawn hours, the House of Representatives voted through a two-week extension of FISA 702, after a showdown on the House floor that included several Republican lawmakers who were not comfortable with the language of the bill presented to them. They joined with Democrats to block a procedural vote and demand new language for the bill.
The House unanimously passed a short-term extension of the nation’s spy powers early Friday morning after GOP rebels dramatically rejected a late-night, last-minute deal to extend the measure for five years.
Instead, the bill pushes the expiration of the powers to April 30 from April 20, while adding some additional reforms and language intended to woo the holdouts.
[...]
In a 200-220 vote at about 1:15 a.m. Friday morning, 12 Republicans voted with almost all Democrats against accepting the deal, text of which was revealed just hours before the vote, after two days of meetings and delays.
Republican opposition to the amendment came not only from right-wing members who pushed for more substantial reforms and who had spent hours negotiating the package with leadership, but also from some House Intelligence Committee members who had pushed for a straight reauthorization of the program.
[...]
That procedural vote, which members of the House Freedom Caucus had long objected to, officially failed in a 197-228 vote, with 20 Republicans voting against it and four Democrats — Reps. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (Wash.), Jared Golden (Maine), Josh Gottheimer (N.J.), and Tom Suozzi (N.Y.) — casting highly unusual votes to vote in favor of the rule, which is normally a test of party strength.
The 20 Republican Reps who helped forestall a longer extension: Sheri Biggs (SC-03), Lauren Boebert (CO-04), Tim Burchett (TN-02), Eric Burlison (MO-07), Michael Cloud (TX-27), Andrew Clyde (GA-09), Eli Crane (AZ-02), Warren Davidson (OH-08), Paul Gosar (AZ-09), Andy Harris (MD-01), Mark Harris (NC-08), Diana Harshbarger (TN-01), Thomas Massie (KY-04), Mary Miller (IL-15), Ralph Norman (SC-05), Andy Ogles (TN-05), Scott Perry (PA-10), John Rose (TN-06), Keith Self (TX-03), and Victoria Spartz (IN-05).
The House then brought up new legislation to extend the FISA authorization from April 20 to April 30, passing it by unanimous consent just after 2 a.m. and adjourning the House until Monday — canceling a day of previously-scheduled votes on Friday.
Republican representatives Massie, Boebert, and Burchett took a victory lap, speaking with independent journalist Nick Sortor about the floor battle.
Sortor asked, "Why do you think they are continuing to try and force this through?"
MASSIE: It's the Deep State. That's what it does.
BOEBERT: Here's the briefing we're never going to get, because you know, they try to bring us into all these classified briefings, and you know, tell us how dangerous it is to have warrants to spy on American citizens. The briefing that we're never going to get is: Hi, our agency has been given too much power by Congress, we need you to take some of it back.
Massie then claimed he went into a SCIF to review two Top Secret documents. He said the documents showed that the FISA program is getting worse, not better.
Sortor stopped Burchett, who voted against the FISA extension. Burchett said, "I don’t believe in FISA. The only reason aliens don’t come down here is because there is no intelligent life.”
WATCH:
🚨 JUST IN—IT’S OFFICIAL: Conservatives have BLOCKED an attempt to RAM THROUGH a 5 year extension of FISA in the dead of night, extending it by only 2 weeks@timburchett, @laurenboebert, and @RepThomasMassie are out here celebrating a win against the deep state 🇺🇸🔥
— Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) April 17, 2026
“They try… pic.twitter.com/xQ4c42rjlQ
JUST IN—IT’S OFFICIAL: Conservatives have BLOCKED an attempt to RAM THROUGH a 5 year extension of FISA in the dead of night, extending it by only 2 weeks @timburchett, @laurenboebert, and @RepThomasMassie are out here celebrating a win against the deep state
“They try to bring us in all these classified briefings and tell us how DANGEROUS it is to have warrants to spy on American citizens.
The briefing that we're never going to get is, ‘hi, our agency has been given TOO MUCH power by Congress!” — Rep. Boebert
—
Asked about how this current FISA bill relates to the powers used to spy on President Trump’s campaign, Massie said:
“Today, I went in the SCIF and saw two TOP SECRET documents that showed this program is getting worse—NOT better!”
When I asked how extending FISA impacts everyday Americans, Massie replied:
“If you get on the government's naughty list—regardless of who is in the White House—they could put your name in this, find things about you, and then go recreate ANOTHER evidence trail to discover that because they're NEVER going to say they used FISA.”
—
When I asked Burchett what he thinks of FISA, and if it’s used to spy on aliens, he said:
“I don’t believe in FISA. The only reason aliens don’t come down here is because there IS not intelligent life.”
The two-week extension is now in the hands of the Senate, which must work to pass this measure in order to get it to President Donald Trump’s desk for signature ahead of the Monday FISA expiration date deadline.
Editor’s Note: The 2026 Midterms will determine the fate of President Trump’s America First agenda. Republicans must maintain control of both chambers of Congress.
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