House Republicans are negotiating a potential compromise to reauthorize the nation's warrantless surveillance powers for one year, scaling back former President Donald Trump's request for an 18-month extension, according to multiple sources familiar with the talks. The emerging deal would renew Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) in exchange for strengthening specific guardrails within the existing law.
Core Components of the Emerging Package
The proposed package includes two significant oversight changes. First, it would impose increased criminal penalties on intelligence officers found to have abused their Section 702 authorities. Second, it would expand access to the proceedings of the secretive Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC) beyond the Intelligence committees to a broader group of lawmakers, a move aimed at increasing transparency.
Negotiations are also considering attaching a rider that would ban the Federal Reserve from issuing a central bank digital currency (CBDC). Anti-CBDC advocates view the must-pass FISA reauthorization as one of their final legislative vehicles this session to get such a prohibition to the president's desk, after it was stripped from the annual defense bill.
Internal GOP Divisions and Alternative Paths
The GOP conference has struggled to unify around a path forward, with some members demanding substantive reforms or seeking to attach unrelated legislation. This internal debate reflects broader strains on constitutional checks and balances as surveillance powers are debated. Earlier on Thursday, some Republicans floated a clean 60-day extension to buy more negotiation time, an approach favored by Rep. Warren Davidson (R-Ohio), a noted FISA skeptic.
Davidson told reporters he was approached about supporting the one-year deal but prefers a short-term extension to maintain pressure for "material reforms." "We're close, but there's material concerns, and frankly, there are a lot of people that you know well, if you move this way, maybe you lose people in the other room," Davidson said. "All those things are doable in 30, 60, or 90 days... You don't need a year to work on that."
Other Republicans signaled openness to a longer-term solution. Rep. Andy Harris (R-Md.) said, "I've always held that if worse comes to worse, you do a short term extension, but again, I think we might come to a longer term conclusion." The negotiations highlight the fractures within the GOP conference on complex national security matters.
Leadership Optimism Ahead of Deadline
Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) acknowledged the ongoing negotiations after multiple members were seen conferring on the House floor. He expressed optimism about reaching a consensus before the April 20 expiration date for the spy powers. "We're very close. Had some great discussion on the floor. Everybody's coming together, and I think we'll be able to meet our deadlines," Johnson told reporters. "We're in the middle of that, but we're building consensus, and I'm very optimistic we'll get there."
A source involved in the sensitive talks cautioned that nothing is finalized but described the potential package as an "offramp" to avoid a lapse in authorities. The debate over Section 702, which allows the government to collect communications of non-Americans located overseas but also incidentally sweeps in Americans' data, has long been a flashpoint between national security hawks and privacy advocates in both parties.
The push to attach a CBDC ban illustrates how must-pass national security bills often become vehicles for unrelated policy priorities, a dynamic seen in other areas like debates over executive military authority. As the deadline looms, the outcome will test Speaker Johnson's ability to manage his conference's divergent factions on a high-stakes issue that sits at the intersection of security, privacy, and executive power.
