US House blocks controversial spy bill after Donald Trump’s opposition
- Prospects for the domestic surveillance programme are in question, with critics saying it gives the government too much power to spy on its citizens
- Trump has claimed without evidence that the law was used to spy on his US presidential campaign
A modest overhaul of a controversial US domestic surveillance programme backed by Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson foundered on Wednesday after critics including Donald Trump said it gave the government too much power to spy on its citizens.
By a vote of 228-193, the Republican-controlled House of Representatives prevented the bill from coming up for debate on the floor. Prospects are now uncertain, as authorisation for the programme is due to expire on April 19 and the Democratic-majority Senate has yet to act.
At issue are elements of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, or FISA, that allow law enforcement to scan vast mountains of data scooped up by US intelligence without first getting approval from a judge.
Hardline Republicans and left-leaning Democrats say those elements give the government too much power to spy on its citizens. They are pressing to require court approval for access.
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What if Trump wins?
A US court found last year that the FBI improperly searched the FISA database 278,000 times over several years.