Diyar Guldogan
11 June 2026•Update: 11 June 2026
US Senate Democrats on Thursday blocked a Republican effort to approve a short-term extension of a controversial surveillance program through unanimous consent.
Sen. Tom Cotton sought unanimous consent from the chamber to extend Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) -- a surveillance authority that permits the government to collect communications of foreign nationals outside the US without individual warrants -- until July 2.
However, Sen. Ron Wyden objected.
It was the second time in a single day that Congress failed to advance a renewal of Section 702 of FISA, heightening the possibility that the surveillance authorities could lapse when they expire on Friday.
“Bipartisan majorities in both the House and the Senate have now rejected what I consider to be the surveillance status quo, and I believe there just have been too many abuses of Americans’ rights across multiple administrations, and members of Congress are now standing up and saying no more,” Wyden said on the Senate floor.
Earlier Thursday, Republicans in the House of Representatives were unable to secure Democratic support for a short-term renewal of the bill, leaving the measure to fail in the lower chamber ahead of a scheduled recess until June 23.
Democrats declined to back reauthorization, citing opposition to President Donald Trump’s appointment of Bill Pulte as acting director of national intelligence.
Lawmakers have been refusing to support FISA reauthorization as long as Pulte is in the nation's top intelligence position, citing his close ties to the president and limited national security experience.
Trump announced Thursday the nomination of Jay Clayton as the next director of national intelligence.
