{"id":47778,"date":"2026-04-18T12:29:25","date_gmt":"2026-04-18T19:29:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/?p=47778"},"modified":"2026-04-18T12:29:25","modified_gmt":"2026-04-18T19:29:25","slug":"in-dead-of-night-johnson-tries-but-fails-to-ram-through-domestic-spying-bill-for-trump","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/2026\/04\/18\/in-dead-of-night-johnson-tries-but-fails-to-ram-through-domestic-spying-bill-for-trump\/","title":{"rendered":"In Dead of Night, Johnson Tries\u2014But Fails\u2014to Ram Through Domestic Spying Bill for Trump"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/media-library\/speaker-johnson-joins-former-president-trump-at-mar-a-lago-for-announcement-on-election-integrity.jpg?id=56525283&amp;width=1200&amp;height=400&amp;quality=70&amp;coordinates=0%2C511%2C0%2C1489\" alt=\"Speaker Johnson Joins Former President Trump At Mar-a-Lago For Announcement On Election Integrity\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump listens as Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-LA) speaks during a press conference at Mr. Trump\u2019s Mar-a-Lago estate on April 12, 2024, in Palm Beach, Florida.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>(Photo by Joe Raedle\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The president and GOP House speaker wanted a 5-year extension of a despised domestic spying bill. Instead, they got just two weeks. \u201cNow, they will have to fight in daylight tomorrow!\u201d said one Democratic lawmaker<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/author\/jon-queally\">Jon Queally<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Apr 17, 2026 (CommonDreams.org)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A dramatic series of votes in the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/tag\/us-house\">US House<\/a>&nbsp;of Representatives resulted in a dead-of-night extension of what critics describe as a \u201cdeceitful proposal\u201d to continue a controversial domestic spying program, known as&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/news\/section-702-surveillance\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Section 702<\/a>, that allows federal agencies to spy on the communications of Americans without a warrant.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>While US President&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/tag\/donald-trump\">Donald Trump<\/a>&nbsp;and his allies on the issue have pushed aggressively for a longer agreement to continue the controversial provision of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, or FISA, most of the Democratic caucus and a band of renegade, more libertarian-leaning&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/tag\/republicans\">Republicans<\/a>&nbsp;have resisted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>RECOMMENDED&#8230;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/news\/himes-section-702\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/media-library\/rep-jim-himes.jpg?id=65428571&amp;width=1200&amp;height=1200&amp;quality=70&amp;coordinates=833%2C0%2C834%2C0\" alt=\"Rep. Jim Himes \"\/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/news\/himes-section-702\">\u2018Unforgivably Cynical\u2019: Top House Dem Ripped for Siding With Trump on Domestic Spying<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/news\/trump-fisa\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/media-library\/us-venezuela-conflict-trump.jpg?id=65404920&amp;width=1200&amp;height=1200&amp;quality=70&amp;coordinates=833%2C0%2C834%2C0\" alt=\"US-VENEZUELA-CONFLICT-TRUMP\"\/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/news\/trump-fisa\">Trump Openly Calls for \u2018Clean\u2019 Extension of Spying Power Opposed by Privacy Advocates<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>In the 228-197&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/clerk.house.gov\/Votes\/2026124\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">final vote<\/a>, a total of four Democrats\u2014Reps. Jared Golden of&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/tag\/maine\">Maine<\/a>, Josh Gottheimer of New Jersey, Marie Gluesenkamp Perez of&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/tag\/washington\">Washington<\/a>, and Thomas R. Suozzi of New York\u2014joined with all but 25 Republicans who voted to pass a 10-day extension. Twenty&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/tag\/gop\">GOP<\/a>&nbsp;members voted against it, while five did not vote.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Ahead of the votes\u2014including on separate versions asking for a 5-year and then 18-month extensions of Section 702\u2014opponents of any clean extension, including Rep.&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/tag\/ro-khanna\">Ro Khanna<\/a>&nbsp;(D-Calif.), said anyone opposed to warrantless spying on Americans must vote no.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThey have called us back at midnight to cast a secret vote to reauthorize FISA while America sleeps,\u201d said Khanna in a late-night\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/tag\/social-media\">social media<\/a>\u00a0post. \u201cA yes vote gives Trump more power to surveil Americans. Every Democrat must vote no. Everyone who loves the constitution must vote no.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">They have called us back at midnight to cast a secret vote to reauthorize FISA while America sleeps. A yes vote gives Trump more power to surveil Americans.<br>Every Democrat must vote no. Everyone who loves the constitution must vote no. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/kJGQm5EWW3\">pic.twitter.com\/kJGQm5EWW3<\/a><\/p>&mdash; Ro Khanna (@RoKhanna) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/RoKhanna\/status\/2044987941148139867?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">April 17, 2026<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>The bloc of 20 Republicans who voted against the shorter extension also refused to budge on the push, despite heavy lobbying from the Trump&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/tag\/white-house\">White House<\/a>&nbsp;and pressure from House Speaker&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/tag\/mike-johnson\">Mike Johnson<\/a>, for the 18-month and 5-year versions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The holdouts on both sides of the aisle, meanwhile, have been demanding&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/tag\/privacy\">privacy<\/a>&nbsp;reforms to make sure the communications of US citizens are not swept up in the surveillance of noncitizens targeted abroad by the nation\u2019s spy agencies and law enforcement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cLet me be clear,\u201d said Rep.&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/tag\/pramila-jayapal\">Pramila Jayapal<\/a>&nbsp;(D-Wash.) explaining her no vote in a statement. \u201cThere is no new warrant requirement in tonight\u2019s amendment to FISA reauthorization. It does absolutely nothing to fix the massive loopholes in 702 collection that allow the government to spy on Americans without a warrant. It does nothing to fix the data broker loophole. And it slaps a 5-year extension on this bill so that this White House can continue to spy on Americans and violate our privacy rights for an even longer time.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Speaker Johnson, she charged, \u201cis trying to pass it in the middle of the night\u2014like so many of other pieces of his agenda\u2014because he knows it is not what the American people want. Don\u2019t be fooled: this bill simply continues to the spying and surveillance of the American people.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Outside critics of the clean extension effort have criticized Democratic lawmakers, including Reps. Gregory Meeks of New York and Jim Hines of Connecticut\u2014the latter of whom was&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/meredithllee\/status\/2044995958400827877\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">reportedly<\/a>&nbsp;conferring with the Republican whip team on the floor of the House late Thursday night\u2014with sabotaging efforts to get a bill with stronger protections.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><\/strong>Sean Vitka, executive director of Demand Progress, which has led a bipartisan coalition against a clean extension of the FISA provision, said serious questions must be asked about the role some Democrats are playing in the current fight to win significant reforms.<strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cSpeaker Johnson\u2019s failure to ram through an 18-month FISA extension creates time for Congress to vote on critical privacy protections, namely closing the backdoor search and data broker loopholes,\u201d Vitka said after the short-term extension was passed overnight. \u201cThis failure of Himes and House Republican leaders is a testament to the good-faith, bipartisan movement fighting tirelessly for Americans\u2019 privacy rights. This is a major opportunity to protect Americans\u2019&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/tag\/civil-liberties\">civil liberties<\/a>, and the Republicans who withstood this pressure should be celebrated for putting privacy over party.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cExtraordinarily, four Democrats chose to back Speaker Johnson over Leader Jeffries on this critical privacy vote,\u201d Vitka added. \u201cGiven that top Intelligence Democrat Jim Himes was caught speaking with Speaker Johnson before the vote, reporters should be asking whether he engineered these defections in an effort to sabotage the mere chance for the House to enact key, broadly bipartisan civil liberties protections. It would be unconscionable for someone with a critical oversight role like Himes to do so.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For his part, Khanna said the battle for meaningful reforms to the FISA law continues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWe just defeated Johnson\u2019s efforts to sneak through a 5-year FISA authorization tonight,\u201d said Khanna. \u201cNow, they will have to fight in daylight tomorrow!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Vitka said that from now until the end of the month, when the short-term extension expires, lawmakers \u201cfighting against privacy reform to face reality: the American people don\u2019t want FISA to continue as-is and are watching like hawks.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIf you want to renew FISA,\u201d he added, \u201cyou must come to the table and agree to real privacy reforms that stop the government from bypassing the courts to collect private information on Americans.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/author\/jon-queally\">Jon Queally<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Jon Queally is managing editor of Common Dreams.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/author\/jon-queally\">Full Bio &gt;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump listens as Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-LA) speaks during a press conference at Mr. Trump\u2019s Mar-a-Lago estate on April 12, 2024, in Palm Beach, Florida.&nbsp; (Photo by Joe Raedle\/Getty Images) The president and GOP House speaker wanted a 5-year extension of&#8230; <a class=\"continue-reading-link\" href=\"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/2026\/04\/18\/in-dead-of-night-johnson-tries-but-fails-to-ram-through-domestic-spying-bill-for-trump\/\"> Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr; <\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47778"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=47778"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47778\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":47779,"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47778\/revisions\/47779"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=47778"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=47778"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=47778"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}