Weakening FISA is good for country

It is often said that perfect is the enemy of the good. So while President Trump’s decision to strong-arm the House of Representatives into abandoning a bill to reauthorize key provisions of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act was motivated by his own political feuds, the whole country should be glad to see Congress move on from FISA.

FISA, originally enacted in 1978, has been routinely reauthorized and expanded by Congress, especially since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

Originally meant to surveil potential terrorists and criminals, the law has been used to justify expansive warrantless government surveillance programs, as well as an FBI investigation into then-candidate Mr. Trump’s campaign that he contends was unjust.

But, since three authorities of FISA expired in March, Congress has been unable to agree on how to re-up the law. The original move to reauthorize the bill was approved by the House in March, with a bipartisan group of 278 representatives voting in favor.

The Senate also approved the reauthorization but an amendment from Sens. Mike Lee (R., Utah) and Pat Leahy (D., Vt.), which added legal protections and review to the FISA court process, sent the bill back to the House.

It was at this point that Mr. Trump threatened that if the legislation were passed, he would use his veto power.

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R., Calif.) called on the Democrats to pull the reauthorization bill. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D., Calif.) and House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer did so, an acknowledgement that the bill did not have the votes necessary to pass, sending it back to committee.

Mr. Trump’s opposition to the FISA reauthorization is plainly self-centered.

He feels wronged by how the law was used to surveil his campaign, and he now wants to defang the law so that it cannot happen again.

But, in doing so, warrantless surveillance programs supported by FISA would be ended.

This would be a sorely needed win for liberty and privacy, two values that laws like FISA have worked to erode over the past several decades.

Cynics are sure to take issue with Mr. Trump’s motivation for stamping out the FISA reauthorizations, but the country will ultimately be better for weakening this disastrous and dangerous law.

This would be a sorely needed win for liberty and privacy, two values that laws like FISA have worked to erode over the past several decades.