In a bipartisan vote, the House of Representatives has passed a bill to reauthorize the nation's warrantless surveillance powers for the next two years. The bill, which will extend and reform Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), was approved by a vote of 273-147. However, the House narrowly declined to attach an amendment that would have required a warrant for some searches.

The reauthorization of the spying powers comes as Congress faces an April 19 deadline to act. The consideration of the FISA legislation led to dramatic scenes on the House floor, particularly regarding the warrant requirement amendment. Initially, an amendment led by Rep. Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.), which sought to add a warrant requirement for Americans' data collected through foreign surveillance, was voted down in a tie vote of 212-212. Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.) objected to the result, and a motion to reconsider the vote was offered by Rep. Laurel Lee (R-Fla.).

However, the vote on tabling the motion to reconsider was postponed to a later date, hindering the progress of the FISA bill to the Senate. The amendment became a central point of disagreement within the FISA debate, pitting privacy advocates on the Judiciary Committee against members of the Intelligence Committee and the White House, who were opposed to the warrant requirement.

The passage of the FISA legislation is considered a win for Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), who faced challenges bridging the gap between factions on the issue of reauthorizing the U.S.'s warrantless surveillance authority. Johnson's efforts to find a compromise were met with hurdles, including a short-term extension in December and the failure of a reform bill vote in February.

Johnson was able to secure the support of hard-liners by changing the FISA reauthorization from five years to two years, agreeing to keep a vote on the warrant requirement amendment, and pledging to hold a vote on a separate data privacy bill in the near future. However, the road ahead remains challenging for Speaker Johnson, as he enters a contentious debate over providing additional aid to Ukraine, a topic that has caused tension within his Speakership. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) has threatened to force a vote to oust Johnson by filing a motion to vacate, similar to the process used to remove former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.).

Notably, Section 702 of FISA allows for warrantless surveillance of noncitizens abroad, but it also involves the collection of communications involving Americans. This issue has brought together some Republicans and Democrats who argue that a warrant should be required for reviewing any information collected on Americans through foreign surveillance.

While the bill includes various reforms to FISA 702, such as requiring agents to obtain approval before querying the database and reducing the number of personnel authorized to conduct searches, the failure of the warrant requirement amendment disappoints privacy advocates who have been advocating for its inclusion. The intelligence community and the White House have opposed the amendment, arguing that it would obstruct access to lawfully collected information.

The bill also addresses concerns related to domestic surveillance by updating provisions of the FISA statute. These updates aim to address the FBI's surveillance of Trump campaign aide Carter Page, and they include barring political opposition and media reports from being used as the basis for warrant applications.

The passage of the bill in the House signifies progress in reauthorizing warrantless surveillance powers but also highlights the ongoing contentious debates surrounding privacy rights and national security. The future of the FISA legislation remains uncertain until the postponed vote on tabling the motion to reconsider takes place.