Rep. LaHood Backs 18-Month Section 702 Renewal as House Vote Nears
Summary
Rep. Darin LaHood supports an 18-month, no-warrant-requirement renewal of Section 702 before its April 20 sunset. He says reforms address FBI query concerns and urges President Trump and House leaders to mobilize support.
Key points
- House leaders were aiming to vote on an 18-month “clean” renewal before Section 702’s April 20 sunset; the article notes the vote was later pushed to the week of April 14.
- Rep. Darin LaHood said he prefers a longer extension but supports the president’s 18-month plan and opposes adding a warrant requirement.
- LaHood cited the program’s reported role in hostage recovery and operations involving Venezuela, Ukraine, and Iran as reasons for renewal.
- The article reports FBI queries of the Section 702 database rose about 35% from the previous year; LaHood said briefings attributed some of the increase to errors and queries related to drug cartels.
- LaHood said reforms reduced the number of FBI personnel able to query U.S. citizens from about 7,500 to 3,500 and changed query protocols.
Article Details
- Event Type
- Debate over congressional reauthorization of Section 702 of FISA
- Impact
- Section 702 permits warrantless collection of electronic communications of foreigners abroad and is scheduled to sunset on April 20 without congressional action. Rep. Darin LaHood and intelligence officials argued that the authority supports national security operations, including hostage recovery and activity related to Venezuela, Ukraine, and Iran. LaHood said FBI queries of the database rose about 35% year over year, attributing some of the increase to errors and expanded drug-cartel-related targeting; he also said reforms had reduced the number of FBI personnel able to query U.S. citizens’ data and were working as intended.
People
Darin LaHoodU.S. representative interviewed about Section 702 reauthorization; he supports an 18-month clean renewal and discussed FBI query increases and reforms.Donald TrumpThe article reports that the president supports an 18-month clean reauthorization of Section 702.Jim JordanHouse Judiciary Committee chair whom LaHood described as publicly supporting an 18-month clean reauthorization.John RatcliffeCIA Director who, according to LaHood, supported the justification for an 18-month clean reauthorization.Kash PatelFBI Director who, according to LaHood, briefly described reforms to Section 702 during a public hearing.Mike JohnsonHouse Speaker who LaHood said had discussed bringing the reauthorization measure to the floor the following week.Tulsi GabbardDirector of National Intelligence who, according to LaHood, supported the justification for an 18-month clean reauthorization.
Countries
Iranargue 702 is vital to national security and cite successes in hostage recovery, Venezuela, Ukraine, and Iran, while reforms and explanations have been offered for a recent rise in FBI queries of the 702 database.UkraineDarin LaHood, argue 702 is vital to national security and cite successes in hostage recovery, Venezuela, Ukraine, and Iran, while reforms and explanations have been offered for a recent rise in FBI queries of the 702United StatesAnd I would just say, from a personal standpoint, I’m a former federal terrorism prosecutor with the U.S.VenezuelaDarin LaHood, argue 702 is vital to national security and cite successes in hostage recovery, Venezuela, Ukraine, and Iran, while reforms and explanations have been offered for a recent rise in FBI queries of the 702