“This is surveillance of foreigners who are abroad. We are not surveilling foreigners in the United States. We’re not surveilling Americans in the United States.”
‘I’m not gonna get rolled’
In a letter to House Republicans last week, Johnson touted new reforms “to rein in the FBI, increase accountability at the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC), impose penalties for wrongdoing, and institute unprecedented transparency across the FISA process.”
The speaker warned that if the House can’t pass its own bill by the April 19 deadline, the Democratic-controlled Senate could use the deadline to its advantage and force the House to pass legislation that would include no reforms at all. It’s an outcome Johnson described as “an unacceptable option.”
However, Section 702’s critics dismiss Johnson’s reasoning. Rep. Kelly Armstrong, R-N.D., told reporters Tuesday he has become frustrated with the GOP leader for pushing legislation up against a deadline and forcing members to take tough votes with a lack of time.
“I’m not gonna get rolled,” Armstrong said.
It’s not clear how conservatives will react to the bill when it is brought to the House floor. For example, Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C., said he hasn’t decided whether he would vote to allow debate on the House floor over the push. Ultraconservatives have often tanked procedural rule votes to freeze the lower chamber and express their displeasure with leadership.
Johnson plans to brief members and meet with various groups throughout the week to discuss the law and try to assuage concerns. The speaker so far has yet to publicly take a side with respect to a warrant requirement.
The intraparty clash comes at a fraught time for the speaker, who is currently facing an existential threat to his job at the hands of Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga. The conservative lawmaker has taken steps to oust him from the speakership.
If Johnson further angers conservative hard-liners, who are already irate at the speaker for working with Democrats on other must-pass legislation, they could turn toward Greene’s side and endanger his leadership post.