IC Oversight & Authorities — 2026-04-28

GOP Privacy Hawks Offer Warrant Amendments as FISA 702 Reauthorization Reaches House Rules Committee

Republican Representatives Thomas Massie, Andy Biggs, Barry Moore, and Mark Harris filed amendments to the FISA Section 702 reauthorization bill as the House Rules Committee took up the measure April 27. Massie proposed banning warrantless covered queries using US person identifiers unless narrow exceptions apply, including existing FISA or criminal warrants, imminent threats, case-by-case consent, or defensive cybersecurity purposes. Another amendment would repeal the broad definition of electronic communications service provider included in the 2024 reform act, which critics say allows compelled access to data held by private data centers and cloud infrastructure. The amendments represent a last-ditch effort by privacy-focused Republicans to constrain IC surveillance powers before the House votes on Speaker Johnson's three-year clean extension without a warrant requirement, with Section 702 facing an April 30 expiration.

Analysis
Filing amendments at the Rules Committee stage signals that the privacy caucus lacks the votes to force changes through regular order, as the Rules Committee majority aligned with leadership controls which amendments reach a floor vote. We assess a warrant requirement amendment is unlikely to appear in the final reauthorization bill by end of Q3 2026. The attorney-approval gating in the current bill text is leadership's durable substitute for a warrant requirement, engineered to hold the Republican conference without conceding procedurally on warrants. The separate amendment to repeal the expanded electronic communications service provider definition targets compelled data access from cloud infrastructure, broadening the coalition of concerns but not the prospects for adoption.

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GOP FISA Deal Faces First Hurdle In The House - Daily Caller