House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said there will be a new round of negotiations with the Senate over the expired powers the FBI considers vital in fighting terrorism, throwing the future of the authorities into doubt
A similar version of the legislation had drawn broad bipartisan support in March, including from Attorney General William Barr. But that coalition crumbled this week as Trump threatened a veto and House Republicans who had once voted for the bill quickly followed his lead.Trump cited his frustration with surveillance practices during the Russia investigation.
“Clearly, because House Republicans have prioritized politics over our national security, we will no longer have a bipartisan veto-proof majority,” Pelosi said in a letter to colleagues. Democrats also have problems within their own ranks. The leaders of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, which has about 70 Democratic House members, also said Wednesday that they’d oppose the bill, saying the legislation doesn’t do enough to protect Americans’ privacy.The House bill passed overwhelmingly in March after Barr negotiated a deal with Republican and Democratic House leaders.
The only difference between the two bills is an amendment adopted by the Senate with 77 votes. That bipartisan language, sponsored by Sens. Mike Lee, R-Utah, and Patrick Leahy, D-Vermont, would allow more third-party oversight to protect people in some surveillance cases. Republicans have historically been hawkish on preserving surveillance powers in the name of national security. But Trump’s GOP allies have joined him over the last year in demanding that any renewal of the FBI’s powers be accompanied by significant new restrictions.
Canada Latest News, Canada Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Amid feud with Twitter, Trump to sign executive order on social media Thursday, White House saysOfficials gave no further details. It was unclear how Trump could follow through on the threat of shutting down privately owned companies including Twitter
Read more »
Trump wants to host the G7 in June, and Trudeau is considering attendingShould U.S. President Donald Trump go ahead with his plans to hold an in-person G7 summit in June, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau may be in attendance.
Read more »
Twitter fact-checks Trump tweet for the first timeSocial-media platform says U.S. President made false claims about mail-in ballots
Read more »
Twitter Applies Fact-Check Labels To Trump Tweets For First TimeThe president accused the platform of 'stifling free speech' after it added a link to reports debunking his tweets about mail-in ballots leading to fraud.
Read more »