House Rules Committee Approves Closed Rule for FISA 702 Vote; GOP Rebels Continue Blocking With 4 Days to April 30 Expiry

With only four days until the April 30 expiry of FISA Section 702 — the warrantless surveillance program that allows US intelligence agencies to intercept electronic communications of foreign nationals outside the United States — the House Rules Committee approved a closed rule that would prevent any floor amendment adding a warrant requirement for searches of Americans' data. Despite this procedural advance, Republican hardliners led by former Freedom Caucus chair Rep. Scott Perry (R-PA) continued to block Speaker Johnson's revised proposal, stating 'we're not there yet.' Trump had met personally with GOP holdouts at the White House to pressure them to support an 18-month 'clean' extension with no warrant amendment changes — consistent with the national security community's preference. The Intelligence Community had emphasized the program's critical value in monitoring Iranian and Chinese communications, particularly during ongoing Iran war operations. NSA General Counsel Glenn Gerstell assessed Johnson's revised bill as including 'some gestures' toward privacy and civil liberties but 'not a lot of really substantive changes.' Without reauthorization, the surveillance program would lapse at midnight on April 30, creating an intelligence gap that officials warned could impact real-time Iran war targeting and broader counterterrorism operations. A House floor vote was expected as early as the week of April 27.