For those who think former President Donald Trump doesn't have any influence over the Republican-led House, think again.
According to Fox News, many believe that one of his posts on Truth Social regarding the potential renewal of Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA).
The renewal had the full support of Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA), but a group of GOP privacy hawks in the lower chamber were dead set on sinking the bill.
Just hours before the bill was quashed in the House by a group of 19 Republican members, Trump targeted the bill in a Truth Social post.
Trump's message regarding the renewal of the FISA bill was clear: "kill it."
"KILL FISA, IT WAS ILLEGALLY USED AGAINST ME AND MANY OTHERS," he wrote, referring to the bill being used against him in the lead-up to the 2016 election.
Fox News noted:
The Reforming Intelligence and Securing America Act, a compromise bill between the House Judiciary Committee and the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, is aimed at curbing instances of abuse reported against Trump and others by instituting safeguards on who can access Section 702-collected data, particularly if it involves a U.S. citizen.
The bill would also reportedly "close" loopholes available to government agencies used to collect the data of private citizens.
However, the 19 GOP House members who sank the bill before it even got to a procedural vote were not convinced that it went far enough to protect the privacy of American citizens, and obviously neither did Trump.
TRUMP: “I’m not a big fan of FISA.. You know they spied on my campaign.” pic.twitter.com/2sxRHOlbgu
— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) April 12, 2024
Fox noted those who voted against the renewal:
Among the GOP lawmakers who blocked the bill were: House Freedom Caucus Chair Bob Good, R-Va.; Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C.; Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo.; Rep. Clay Higgins, R-La.; Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas; and Rep. Matt Rosendale, R-Mont., among others.
One X user wrote, "speaker Johnson enabling the other side by voting to keep FISA going."
Another X user wrote, "Never been one to beat around the bush. And certainly never been one to hold his tongue. I believe that’s the kind of leader a free country needs."
If nothing else happens regarding the renewal of the bill, it's set to expire on April 19. Only time will tell.
