House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York speaks center as Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer of New York looks on during an event with Congressional Democrats on the Senate steps in Washington, May 21, 2026.
Win McNamee | Getty Images
The U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday rejected a proposal to extend a major foreign surveillance program until July 2, as Democrats continue to withhold support for President Donald Trump’s choice of Bill Pulte as acting director of national intelligence. The program expires on Friday.
President Trump selected Pruitt for the role earlier this month, sparking a bipartisan backlash. Mr. Prut is currently the head of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, and has used his position to launch investigations into several of Mr. Trump’s political opponents over allegations of mortgage-related fraud. He has no national security experience.
House Democratic leaders expressed opposition to a short-term reauthorization of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act ahead of a vote scheduled for Thursday, effectively dooming the bill. Speaker Mike Johnson had sought to approve the bill under a procedural tool typically used for non-controversial bills, which requires support from two-thirds of the House.
The bill failed by a vote of 198 to 218. The House will leave town after the vote and is not scheduled to return until June 23.
“Section 702 is an important provision for foreign intelligence agencies, but we cannot in good conscience vote to reauthorize it without significant reform to protect both national security and Americans’ constitutional right to privacy,” said House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D.N.Y.) and Minority Leader Catherine Clark (Massachusetts), Democratic Caucus Chairman Pete Aguilar (D), House Intelligence Committee Ranking Member Jim Hymes (D), and House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., said in a joint statement:
“Bill Pulte has no national security-related experience; therefore, his appointment violates the law requiring the Director of National Intelligence to have ‘extensive’ national security experience,” the Democratic leaders wrote. “The apparent motive for his elevation is Bill Pelt’s demonstrated willingness to search government databases for allegations regarding President Trump’s chosen political opponents.”
President Trump announced Thursday that he will nominate Jay Clayton, the attorney for the Southern District of New York and former chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, as director of national intelligence. However, the announcement was not made until after the House had left town.
“While this seems like a positive step on the surface, the president’s timing couldn’t be worse, waiting until now when literally everyone has left town and there is no possibility of progress on FISA until next week,” Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., said Thursday. “It’s completely unclear why Creighton wasn’t nominated in the first place.”
Section 702 of FISA allows the government to collect the communications of people outside the United States, including when they interact with Americans. It’s a controversial program, especially for privacy hawks who are concerned about US citizens’ data being leaked to the government. But supporters argue it is a vital national security tool, especially as the United States, Canada and Mexico prepare to host the FIFA Men’s World Cup, which opens on Thursday, and as Washington prepares for a series of semi-quincentenary celebrations in the coming weeks.
“199 Democrats voted against the innocent three-week extension for political purposes, and they applauded when it passed,” Johnson told reporters after the vote. “That record and that video will live in infamy. We hope that there are no serious disasters on our shores in the coming weeks.”
Nineteen House Republicans also opposed the bill.
Lawmakers had been negotiating a multi-year extension of the program last week, but the Senate killed those negotiations on Friday after President Trump announced he would temporarily nominate Pruitt as the DNI nominee.
Some Republicans, including Representative Don Bacon of Nebraska, who is retiring at the end of this Congress, have called for Mr. Trump to be reselected to clear the way for passage. But Trump doubled down on his choice, saying in a post on Truth Social on Wednesday that Pruitt would take over the role on June 19 and calling for a short-term FISA patch.
“FISA 702 is critical to our military and protects the safety of the American people, especially during the World Cup and America 250 celebrations. If nothing is done, this important law will expire this week. I am asking Congress for a short-term extension of FISA to allow time for the selection and confirmation of a permanent Secretary,” President Trump wrote.
Sen. Mark Warner, the top Democrat on the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, acknowledged in a press briefing after Thursday’s House vote that it would be “dangerous” not to pass a FISA extension by Friday’s deadline.
But the Virginia Democratic Party said it has alternatives, including keeping Aaron Lucas, Trump’s No. 2 appointee, in the short-term position in place of Pruitt after the current board chair, Tulsi Gabbard, steps down.
President Trump could issue an executive order extending FISA, but Warner isn’t convinced that idea would work because without Congressional approval of the program, telecommunications companies could oppose it due to liability concerns.
The risk of not having a qualified leader in charge of national intelligence looms large in the lead-up to the World Cup.
“We absolutely cannot allow anything to happen leading up to the World Cup,” Warner said. “But if something were to happen, it would lie at the feet of the president, and that would be unfortunate.”
