President Donald Trump on Wednesday pleaded with Congress not to eliminate the government's surveillance powers and pledged to swiftly nominate a replacement for the loyalist he selected to lead U.S. intelligence agencies. In a post on his website, Trump requested a short-term extension of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) provision set to expire this week, allowing time to find a permanent director for the Office of the Director of National Intelligence instead of Bill Pulte.
Trump's Appeal for Extension
"I am asking Congress to send me a short-term extension of FISA to provide time for the selection and confirmation of a permanent Head of the Agency," Trump wrote, acknowledging Republican calls for the president to quickly name an alternative. The Senate rejected a three-year FISA extension last week after Trump announced Pulte as acting director of national intelligence. This bipartisan rejection marked the second time in weeks that Trump derailed his own legislative agenda; Republicans previously stalled an immigration enforcement bill after Trump established an "Anti-Weaponization Fund" to distribute cash payments to political allies. Once the administration abandoned the fund, Republicans advanced the bill.
Senate Reactions and Challenges
Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.), the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, stated that Congress could extend the spy law if Trump had not thrown a "live hand grenade" into negotiations by naming Pulte. Warner suggested lawmakers might struggle to pass another short-term extension after already doing so twice this year. "I'm not sure there are votes there," Warner told reporters Wednesday. This indicates that Democrats, and possibly some Republicans, could oppose the president.
In his current role at the Federal Housing Finance Agency, Pulte has scrutinized mortgage records to accuse various Democrats of mortgage fraud and refer them for criminal prosecution, though investigations have so far fizzled. Section 702 of the spy law permits the government to surveil foreigners using U.S. telecommunications infrastructure, incidentally capturing Americans' emails and phone records. Domestic law enforcement can then access this data, a process civil liberties advocates view as circumventing the Fourth Amendment's protections against unreasonable searches.
Reform Demands and Potential Blockage
Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), a leading advocate for spy reforms—particularly requiring judicial warrants for "U.S. person queries" of FISA data—suggested a bipartisan coalition would insist on reform regardless of leadership. "Firing Pulte is not going to fix the problem," Wyden told HuffPost, declining to say whether he would block a short-term extension. Other Democrats, however, indicated that removing Pulte would significantly help. "FISA is not doomed as long as the president is willing to change his mind about nominating someone who is wildly unqualified to hold this position," Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.) told HuffPost.
