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Reporter’s Notebook: Lawmakers scramble as FISA fight comes at the worst possible time
Lawmakers sound alarm as FISA spy law expires
Fox News chief congressional correspondent Chad Pergram reports on Congress failing to reach a deal on FISA Section 702, sparking warnings from lawmakers about national security vulnerabilities, on ‘Fox Report.’
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There’s the World Cup. America’s 250th birthday. And the conflict with Iran.
It’s all a nightmare national security hat trick.
«It’s the highest we’ve ever seen,» said Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin on Fox News Sunday about the terrorism threat level. «When I say we arrest terrorists every single week, I’m not exaggerating. Those aren’t the individuals that are coming across our border, those are individuals that are still inside this country.»
But lawmakers are scared now that the nation’s premier anti-terrorism tool — called FISA Section 702 — expired over the weekend.
EXPIRING SPY LAW SPARKS WARNINGS OF ‘FATAL’ CONSEQUENCES AHEAD OF WORLD CUP
Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin testifies before the House Committee on Homeland Security during a hearing on the Fiscal 2027 budget request for the Department of Homeland Security, in Washington, Wednesday, June 3, 2026. (Cliff Owen)
«I hope and pray to God that nothing happens in this country where an American is killed,» said Sen. Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio.
«We want to prevent the next 9/11 from happening,» said Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kan., on Fox.
«This program goes dark at a time when there are literally hundreds of thousands of people coming to this country for the World Cup,» said Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D.
Well, not quite.
«FISA is operative until next March. That’s the legislation,» said Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., the top Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee.
Confused? You’re not the only one. Let me explain.
SPY PROGRAM CREDITED WITH STOPPING TAYLOR SWIFT TERROR PLOT BARRELS TOWARD EXPIRATION
Sen. Jack Reed listens as Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell testifies at a Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee hearing on the Fed’s semiannual monetary policy report on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., on March 3, 2022. (Tom Williams-Pool/Getty Images)
Legal authority sanctioned by Congress for this powerful intelligence-gathering weapon to foil terrorism expired at 11:59:59 p.m. ET Friday night. If nearly any other statute other than FISA Section 702 expired, the government couldn’t continue to rely on the program.
«It’s a very inopportune time to allow the authorizing statute for 702 to lapse,» conceded George Croner, a former National Security Agency counsel. «It has proven to be the most useful by far of any of the intelligence programs that the community has available to it.»
That’s why there’s worry about unprecedented vulnerabilities with the program expiring. Especially right now.
«I think that it’s completely irresponsible to have FISA go dark at the beginning of the World Cup,» said Rep. Carlos Gimenez, R-Fla., on FOX Business.
A bipartisan coalition tanked an emergency FISA extension in both bodies of Congress last week.
«It should have been voted down,» said Rep. Jason Crow, D-Colo. «And I don’t say that lightly.»
«We don’t have the guts to fix it. And I’m tired of hearing people are going to die,» said Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Tenn., scoffing at potential consequences from a program which ran its statutory course.
The House rejected a three-week patch to paper over an imminent lapse in the program on Thursday.
«Anybody who votes no on this bill is voting to undermine America’s national security,» said House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La.
CONSERVATIVE FISA REVOLT POSES FRESH TEST FOR SPEAKER JOHNSON
House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, joined by House Majority Whip Tom Emmer and Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, holds a news conference after a House Republican Conference meeting at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 13, 2026. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
But the GOP House majority failed to muster even 200 yeas for the bill. Nineteen Republicans bolted. They have privacy concerns and raised questions about illegal searches and seizures.
«The Fourth Amendment is not a suggestion. We have to have a warrant,» said Rep. Keith Self, R-Texas.
Still, Republican leaders claimed that it was Democratic resistance which put the country at risk.
«(Democrats) are willing to jeopardize the safety and the security of the American people to make a cheap political point,» said House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La.
But there was a reason Democrats balked.
Congress punted renewing FISA Section 702 on multiple occasions over the past few months, repeatedly approving stopgap measures. Finally, Democrats and Republicans painstakingly negotiated a compromise which would install reforms. But Democrats withdrew their support for the deal once President Trump announced that housing czar Bill Pulte would take over on a temporary basis for Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard.
Democrats noted that Pulte lacked any national security or intelligence experience. Moreover, they believed he could weaponize intelligence programs like Section 702 against political opponents.
TULSI GABBARD CHANGES TUNE ON CONTROVERSIAL INTELLIGENCE TOOL FOLLOWING GOP LOBBYING
Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency Bill Pulte walks outside the White House, Sept. 2, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
Ironically, both sides thought this was ironed out before Memorial Day. But Senate Democrats pulled their votes to advance the FISA measure in a pre-dawn vote late last month.
Still, there’s concern about the consequences of not having FISA Section 702 fully in place.
«Do Democrats not sleep at night if, God forbid, there’s something that happens with FISA turned off?» yours truly asked House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y.
«Donald Trump should lose sleep,» countered Jeffries. «Because Donald Trump decided he wants to elevate Bill Pulte, who is nothing more than a malignant political hack.»
Here’s how the program works:
FISA siphons the calls, emails and texts of foreign intelligence targets that the U.S. tracks. A special, secret court oversees FISA. But it ruled that the intelligence services can still track suspect communications through well into 2026 – despite a break in the law.
«Data can still be collected for a year after it expires. So I don’t think it’s as dire as some think it is,» said Sen. Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyo.
She’s not the only one.
«(FISA) will not lapse. I try to make this clear. The statute makes it clear that the authorities of FISA are going to be positive and enforceable for the remainder of this year. We think, until March of next year,» said Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin, D-Ill.
TRUMP SIGNS STOPGAP FISA EXTENSION AFTER SENATE BLOCKS LONG-TERM RENEWAL
Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., speaks during a hearing on Capitol Hill to examine the abduction of Ukrainian children by the Russian Federation on Dec. 3, 2025. (Demetrius Freeman/The Washington Post)
However, it’s unclear if telecommunications companies will provide digital breadcrumbs to the government, lacking a Congressional safeguard.
«That is a gray area and it’s one of the things that we’re going to have to work through,» said Jeffries.
Croner, the former NSA counsel, says people shouldn’t worry about the government lacking a FISA Section 702 law. But he offered a caveat.
«The carriers are going to become, in my view, increasingly uncomfortable with not having statutory protection for their part in 702 collection,» said Croner.
When reporting on Congress, you’re only as good as your sources. And the same can be said in spy craft. The government’s digital spooks can’t track possible terrorists if the telecom data vanishes.
It was believed a path emerged to re-up FISA late last week. Just as the Senate departed for the week, the President nominated Jay Clayton as the permanent DNI. Clayton’s confirmation hearing is Wednesday before the Senate Intelligence Committee. It’s possible the Senate could step on the gas and try to confirm Clayton on the floor as early as this week. That could clear the path to reauthorize FISA.
«The only factor was Bill Pulte,» said Sen. Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., about Democrats dropping their support for a FISA renewal. «And that factor is now, I think, set on the sideline. It should pave the way.»
Republicans will likely vote to confirm Clayton. But Democrats aren’t so sure.
«We have to look very clearly at Jay Clayton,» said Reed. «He’s a very accomplished lawyer. But the statute requires someone taking this job to have significant national security experience. That has to be measured. I don’t think he does.»
So the Senate may confirm Clayton. But does that guarantee passage of FISA? Not necessarily. President Trump altered the playing field again over the weekend.
He’s now demanding that lawmakers connect an extension of FISA Section 702 to the SAVE America Act. That bill is the touchstone of the President’s 2026 agenda. It requires proof of citizenship to vote. While popular among Republicans, the SAVE America Act didn’t even command a simple majority on two test votes in the Senate this spring.
REPORTER’S NOTEBOOK: TRUMP’S SAVE ACT ULTIMATUM RUNS INTO SENATE REALITY
Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, speaks at a «Only Citizens Vote» bus tour rally supporting the SAVE Act at Upper Senate Park outside the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., on Sept. 10, 2025. (Kent Nishimura/Getty Images)
A mix of Democrats and Republicans are necessary to pass FISA. There’s too much internal GOP opposition. Latching the SAVE America Act to FISA Section 702 is a poison pill to Democrats. The measure would never command 60 votes and break a filibuster in the Senate.
So where does this land?
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As Croner suggests, things are likely OK for now, despite the threats. However, a long statuary breach for FISA isn’t good.
You’re only as good as your sources in journalism. And perhaps to prevent a terrorist attack, you’re only as good as the law.
congress, homeland security, national security, counter terrorism, senate elections, politics
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La guerra termina, pero crece la presión sobre las autoridades del régimen iraní por la crisis económica
El acuerdo alcanzado entre Irán y Estados Unidos para poner fin a la guerra abrió una nueva etapa para la República Islámica, marcada por la presión de una economía devastada, las expectativas de una población agotada por el conflicto y las demandas de los sectores más radicales del sistema, que reclaman una postura más dura frente a Washington.
Mientras el memorando que ambas partes firmarán el fin de semana en Suiza busca consolidar el cese de las hostilidades y reabrir el estrecho de Ormuz, dirigentes, analistas y ciudadanos coinciden en que los desafíos internos podrían convertirse en la principal preocupación de las autoridades iraníes en los próximos meses.
“En el momento en que termine la guerra, y dado que este acuerdo provisional es inestable, comenzarán los verdaderos problemas para la clase clerical iraní”, afirmó Hamidreza Azizi, investigador visitante del Instituto Alemán de Asuntos Internacionales y de Seguridad de Berlín.
Según funcionarios iraníes consultados por Reuters, existe una fuerte expectativa social de que cualquier alivio financiero derivado del acuerdo se traduzca en mejoras concretas para la población. Uno de ellos describió a los ciudadanos como “cansados de la guerra y las dificultades económicas” y señaló que los recursos obtenidos se destinarían a la reconstrucción, al sistema bancario y a programas de apoyo económico.
La economía iraní atraviesa una situación crítica. La inflación anual, que rondaba el 50% antes del conflicto, escaló hasta el 77%, mientras que en productos de primera necesidad llegó al 130 %. Además, el Gobierno estima que los ataques estadounidenses e israelíes causaron daños por unos 270.000 millones de dólares, afectaron cerca de 3.000 infraestructuras industriales y provocaron la pérdida de al menos dos millones de empleos.
En las calles de Teherán, el anuncio del acuerdo fue recibido con alivio. En la plaza Enqelab, uno de los centros neurálgicos de la capital, muchos ciudadanos expresaron su esperanza de que el entendimiento permita mejorar las condiciones de vida tras 39 días de bombardeos y más de dos meses de incertidumbre.
“Cuando escuché que Irán y Estados Unidos habían acordado un memorando de entendimiento sentí alivio”, dijo Mahmud, un cajero de supermercado de 46 años. “Estamos cansados del conflicto y queremos pasar página”, agregó. El trabajador explicó que el deterioro económico obligó a muchas familias a reducir gastos básicos. “Hemos dejado de tomar café todos los días o de comprar alimentos no esenciales”, relató.
Mahmud también expresó cautela respecto del futuro del acuerdo. “Creo que si las sanciones se reducen quizás mejore la economía y el Gobierno tenga más recursos por lo menos para evitar que la inflación siga subiendo”, sostuvo, aunque advirtió: “Ya hemos visto acuerdos que luego no se han mantenido”.
La expectativa económica también domina las preocupaciones de Alí, empleado de una compañía de seguros. “Lo importante es que se haya abierto una puerta a la diplomacia”, señaló. “Ahora mismo, una mejora de la situación económica sería lo más importante para nosotros los iraníes, que estamos siendo aplastados por la subida de precios”, añadió.
Ashkan, un desempleado de 38 años, consideró que el acuerdo representa una oportunidad pese a las incertidumbres sobre las futuras negociaciones nucleares. “Nadie sabe si las negociaciones tendrán éxito, pero después de meses de guerra, incluso la posibilidad de una solución diplomática ya se considera una buena noticia”, afirmó.
“Queremos mirar hacia adelante y recuperar una vida normal”, sostuvo. También remarcó que su generación busca “oportunidades, intercambios con otros países y un horizonte más predecible”.
Sin embargo, el acuerdo también generó rechazo entre sectores ultraconservadores que consideran que Irán obtuvo una victoria militar y no debería negociar con Washington.
Durante toda la guerra, las autoridades del régimen recurrieron a una fuerte movilización de grupos afines al sistema y reprimieron cualquier manifestación de disidencia. Ahora, parte de esa base política reclama una recompensa por su apoyo y cuestiona la decisión de sentarse a negociar con Estados Unidos.
Uno de los sectores más críticos es el Frente Paydari, una corriente ultraconservadora con representación parlamentaria y capacidad de presión sobre el establishment político.
Hossein, integrante de la milicia Basij vinculada a la Guardia Revolucionaria, expresó ese malestar. “Están haciendo un trato con el enemigo que martirizó a nuestro líder, a pesar de que habíamos ganado la guerra”, afirmó. “¿Qué ha sido de vengar la sangre del imán Khamenei? ¿Qué tipo de gobierno islámico es este? Y ahora, el viernes, quieren dar la mano a los asesinos del imán”, agregó.
Las manifestaciones de rechazo al acuerdo siguen siendo minoritarias. En Teherán, pequeños grupos de ultraconservadores continúan concentrándose con consignas como “Muerte a América”, “Muerte a Israel” y “Muerte a los vende patrias”.
Una manifestante aseguró que “hay que seguir luchando con Estados Unidos e Israel hasta derrotarlos” y sostuvo que el líder supremo, Mojtaba Khameneí, “no ha dado su visto bueno al acuerdo”.
Analistas consideran que el principal desafío del liderazgo iraní consistirá en equilibrar esas presiones contrapuestas. Por un lado, una población que exige alivio económico y estabilidad. Por otro, una base ideológica que reclama firmeza frente a Occidente y mayores inversiones en capacidades militares.
“El reto más inmediato para los dirigentes es cómo convencer a su propia base de apoyo de línea dura de que este es realmente un buen acuerdo”, sostuvo Azizi.
A su vez, el economista Saeed Laylaz advirtió: “Desde una perspectiva interna, Irán dispone ahora de un margen de tiempo limitado para controlar la situación interna”.
La posibilidad de nuevas protestas masivas permanece presente en el horizonte político iraní. Funcionarios y ex funcionarios reconocieron que el fracaso para mejorar las condiciones de vida podría reactivar el malestar social en un país donde las autoridades aún enfrentan las secuelas de las protestas de los últimos años y las tensiones derivadas de la sucesión en el liderazgo supremo tras la muerte de Ali Khamenei.
(Con información de EFE y Reuters)
billboard,cars,conflicts,people,strait of hormuz,street,us-iran
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California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Monday said that the Justice Department is investigating him and his wife, Jennifer Siebel Newsom, under orders from President Donald Trump.
«After calling for my arrest last year, Donald Trump directed his Department of Justice to investigate me,» he said in a video statement. «And just in the last week, I’ve learned his campaign has reached my own home: to get me, he’s coming after my wife, Jen.»
The governor also claimed the investigation is intended to undermine any potential White House bid he may pursue in the future.
Sources familiar told Fox News that the investigation has been ongoing since 2025 and that the probe is based on whistleblower complaints related to Newsom and his wife’s personal finances. The case is being handled by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Sacramento.
CNN PANELIST COMPARES HUNTER BIDEN, GAVIN NEWSOM MASH UP TO ‘WEIRD TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES’
California Gov. Gavin Newsom spoke about the bill Saturday, neglecting to mention any safety issues reported by ICE officers and their families. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)
«Donald Trump isn’t just coming after me because of my mean Tweets. He’s coming after me because I am considering running for President,» he said. «Because he hates that I’ve consistently called him out – over and over again – for his lies and deceit. Donald Trump is simply the most corrupt President in American history.»
Newsom’s wife, Jennifer, is a documentary filmmaker who runs The Representation Project, a nonprofit organization that seeks to advance feminism through media production. The charity has attracted «pay-for-play» allegations, with critics claiming that corporations with business interests in California donate to the organization to gain influence over Newsom.
«There are clearly no boundaries to what Donald Trump will do to get his way or to challenge those who get in his way. This is not presidential behavior, and the Governor and I will continue to speak truth to power because the American people deserve so much more,» Jennifer Siebel Newsom said in a statement to Fox News.
″One by one, anyone who has challenged Donald Trump has ended up on his hit list,» Newsom said in a video statement. «And today, I proudly join that list.»
Since Trump took office, the DOJ has set its sights on a number of Trump’s foes. Among them are former FBI Director James Comey, former National Security Advisor John Bolton, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, Sen. Adam Schiff, and former Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell.
Trump and Newsom have engaged in a number of high-profile clashes in recent years.
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In November 2025, for instance, Trump nationalized the California National Guard to address anti-immigration enforcement protests in Los Angeles, prompting Newsom to sue to regain control of the forces. The two have repeatedly traded blows over issues such as crime, homelessness and environmental issues.
The California governor’s office referred Fox News Digital to a fact sheet claiming that federal investigators spent months trying to indict Newsom and, upon failing, widened their search for criminal activity. The fact sheet also asserts that federal agents have subpoenaed records and conducted interviews covering years of activity.
CNN PANELIST COMPARES HUNTER BIDEN, GAVIN NEWSOM MASH UP TO ‘WEIRD TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES’
Gov. Gavin Newsom said that President Donald Trump is targeting him and his wife. (AP Photo)
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Sources familiar told Fox News that there have been grand jury subpoenas, though did not specify who was subpoenaed nor their relation to the investigation into Newsom.
The DOJ did not respond to a request for comment when reached by Fox News Digital on Monday.
Fox News’ David Spunt, Jake Gibson and Olivia Palombo contributed to this story.
gavin newsom, donald trump, justice department
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