Warrant requirements, Democratic worries could factor into spy law renewal debate

A fresh effort is mounting in Congress to require federal agents to obtain a warrant before searching a government surveillance database for information about U.S. citizens, as Congress again faces an impending deadline, in four months, to renew a major surveillance law.

But there are also signs that renewal of Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), set to expire in April, could see the reversal of political headwinds that endangered the last reauthorization two years ago: Democrats are now concerned about President Donald Trump’s usage of those spying powers, rather than Republicans being worried about then-President Joe Biden.

A key debate in 2024 was the idea of a warrant requirement, and a House Judiciary Committee hearing Thursday made clear it’s set to reemerge. Under Section 702 of FISA, the government can warrantlessly surveil foreign targets. But it also doesn’t require a warrant to warrantlessly search a database using U.S. individuals’ personal information to obtain communications from people who are electronically communicating with surveillance targets.

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