Jeffries won’t back spy powers extension unless Trump fires Pulte
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries says he will not support extending Section 702 of the Foreign intelligence Surveillance Act unless acting DNI Bill Pulte is removed. Jeffries frames reversing Pulte’s appointment as a necessary first step,while House Speaker Mike Johnson argues that undoing the appointment isn’t required to pass a FISA extension and warns about “playing with a risky situation.”
Democratic votes are key to any extension because the program is set to lapse June 12 and GOP hard-liners oppose another deal without broader agreement. Negotiations have already stalled: a Senate push to extend Section 702 for three years collapsed when most Democrats withdrew support after Trump appointed Pulte. Republicans say they will try again before the deadline, but they will need Democratic backing to overcome the 60-vote filibuster hurdle.
Democrats are withholding support over claims that during Pulte’s previous leadership roles, he made criminal referrals tied to alleged mortgage fraud targeting Trump political opponents.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) is demanding the removal of acting Director of National Intelligence Bill Pulte from his post in exchange for supporting an extension of a government spy tool set to lapse this week.
When asked Monday if there was any scenario he would support an extension of Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, Jeffries gave reporters an unequivocal “no.”
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“Reversing the Bill Pulte appointment is a starting point, not an ending point,” Jeffries said. “It’s a step in the right direction, because it reverses something that is clearly out of bounds, unacceptable, and cannot be allowed to occur.”
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) told reporters he did not believe that reversing Pulte’s appointment was a “necessary requirement of passing FISA,” and that anyone calling for it in exchange for an extension of the spy tool is “playing with a dangerous situation.”
Democratic support will be crucial to getting an extension of the government spy program across the finish line. Over 90 House Democrats, including Jeffries, crossed party lines to support a short-term extension back in April. That extension is set to lapse on June 12, and without Democratic support for another deal, Johnson will have a difficult path in getting an extension passed on the House floor given opposition from GOP hard-liners.
Already, a Senate deal to extend Section 702 for three years was upended last week after almost all Democrats, except for Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA), pulled their support over President Donald Trump’s appointment of Pulte as acting intelligence chief.
The failure to advance the Senate’s extension of Section 702 is the latest roadblock in a monthslong battle to pass a long-term deal for the government surveillance program. Congress has had to pass two short-term extensions this year to keep the program viable, with the House passing three deals, one of which was rejected by the Senate.
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Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) said Friday the upper chamber will “take another run at” renewing the spy program ahead of the June 12 deadline, but acknowledged Republicans will need “some help from Democrats.”
Democratic support will ultimately be necessary to overcome the chamber’s 60-vote filibuster threshold. But Democrats are withholding their support over Pulte’s nomination, arguing he has used his tenure as director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency and chairman of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to make criminal referrals against Trump political opponents for alleged mortgage fraud.
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