Sen. Maggie Hassan, D-N.H., speaks as U.S. Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Linda Fagan testifies at a Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Subcommittee on Investigations hearing on Capitol Hill on June 11, 2024. (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images
A bronze statue of English legal scholar Sir William Blackstone stands in front of the E. Barrett Pettyman United States Courthouse on July 7, 2024, in Washington. The courthouse houses the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, and the U.S. Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court. (Photo by J. David Ake/Getty Images)
Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act has lapsed, but another decision on its future nears, and the classified opinion could be decisive.
Jay Clayton appears before the Senate Intelligence Committee during his confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill July 15, 2026 Currently serving as U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Clayton’s hearing comes days after his department signed off on controversial subpoenas against New York Times reporters. (Photo by Aaron Schwartz/Getty Images)
Clayton maintained he was not an “election denier” but wouldn’t directly answer a number of questions about the 2020 race, his predecessor’s appearance at a January election…
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., speaks at a press conference with other members of Senate Republican leadership following a policy luncheon at the U.S. Capitol on April 21, 2026. (Photo by Nathan Posner/Anadolu via Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC – JUNE 16: The American flag flies above the U.S. Capitol building during a press conference on Capitol Hill. (Photo by Samuel Corum/Getty Images)
Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation of the United States Kash Patel is seen in the Capitol near a meeting on the administration’s use of FISA authority on March 18, 2026. (Photo by Alex Kent/The Washington Post via Getty Images)
Congress overhauled Section 702 in 2024 with 56 changes. Now, as the law nears expiration, supporters and critics can’t even agree on what the numbers show.
Chairman Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, looks on as U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee in the Hart Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill on Oct. 7, 2025. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)
Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, and ranking member Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., conduct the House Judiciary Committee hearing titled “Oversight of the Federal Bureau of Investigation,” featuring testimony by FBI Director Kash Patel in Rayburn building on Sept. 17, 2025. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call)
A fresh effort is mounting in Congress to require federal agents to obtain a warrant before searching a government surveillance database for information about U.S. citizens, as…
U.S. Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) participates in a House Judiciary Subcommittee hearing in the Rayburn House Office Building on April 01, 2025 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images)