86 Republicans Vote To Allow Warrantless Spying Of Americans With FISA

Eighty-six House Republicans voted against an amendment to the FISA reauthorization bill which would have added a warrant requirement to prevent the U.S. government from spying on Americans without their knowledge.

The vote tally on the amendment, introduced by Republican Arizona Rep. Andy Biggs, was 212-212, with House Speaker Mike Johnson casting the tiebreaker vote against it. Among the Republicans who voted for the legislation without Biggs’ amendment are Johnson, Majority Leader Steve Scalise, Majority Whip Tom Emmer and Texas Rep. Dan Crenshaw.

“Today is a dark day for America,” Texas Republican Rep. Troy Nehls said in a statement. “It is no secret that the DOJ and the FBI have used and abused FISA to spy on not only the greatest president of my lifetime, Donald J. Trump, but spy on everyday Americans. I could not, in good conscience, vote to give our nation’s weaponized DOJ the power to mass surveil the American people without significant reforms, such as a warrant requirement.”