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Featured Stories April 13,2024 | Independence Journal Editorial Team

Staggering Number Of Republicans Support Warrantless Surveillance Of Americans

A significant number of House Republicans are being called out for openly supporting the warrantless surveillance of American citizens via voting in favor of reauthorizing Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) without any protections for their constituents.

On Wednesday, only 19 Republican lawmakers joined the 209 Democrat lawmakers to kill the vote on FISA reauthorization. Most of the Republicans who voted against the reauthorization were members of the House Freedom Caucus. This allowed the procedural vote to advance FISA to fail 193-228.

Just two days later, a staggering 86 House Republicans voted against an amendment that would protect Americans from the measure’s warrantless surveillance.

The amendment to the Reforming Intelligence and Securing America Act (RISAA), proposed by Rep. Andy Biggs (R-AZ), would require the federal government to obtain a warrant for surveillance of Americans’ communications. While FISA authorizes the government to surveil the communications of foreign nationals overseas, the act has been used to spy on Americans who speak to individuals overseas — and was even used to target former President Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign.

On Friday, the House held a vote for Biggs’ amendment, which failed by a tie vote of 212-212. Among those who voted against the amendment are 86 House Republicans — who blatantly violated the trust of their constituents, as a recent YouGov poll found that 76% of Americans support a warrant requirement for FISA, while only 12% opposed the requirement.

Breitbart News compiled a list of all 86 Republican lawmakers that support warrantless surveillance of their constituents. The list, which can be seen here, includes establishment RINOs like House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) and Reps. Dan Crenshaw (R-TX), Michael McCaul (R-TX) and Steve Scalise (R-LA).

Johnson, who typically abstains from voting as House Speaker, was the tie-breaker in what many described as a “betrayal.” He previously supported closing the loophole that allowed the federal government to spy on Americans without a warrant — but has since changed his mind, claiming that his reversal was due to information he learned during a classified briefing after becoming House Speaker.

Conservatives and the progressives who supported the amendment have condemned congressional leadership and their other colleagues for pushing back against genuine reforms that would have protected Americans’ privacy.

In a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) declared: “This is how the Constitution dies. By a tie vote, the amendment to require a warrant to spy on Americans goes down in flames. This is a sad day for America. The Speaker doesn’t always vote in the House, but he was the tie breaker today. He voted against warrants.”

“Today’s FISA warrant amendment vote was tied, which means every single vote was the deciding vote. Make your decisions about who represents you based on supporting your Constitutional rights,” wrote Rep. Scott Perry (R-PA).

The FISA renewal has since passed the House by a vote of 273-147 thanks to the big government Republicans, though the measure will still face one more vote on Monday thanks to Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL) — who objected to the final passage and demanded a vote on a motion to reconsider.

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