House passes modified surveillance bill after it failed earlier this week

(CNN) — The House on Friday passed a modified surveillance bill, just two days after an earlier version failed to advance in a public rebuke to GOP leadership.

The bill, which reauthorizes the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, also needs to pass the Senate ahead of an April 19 deadline.

• How Indiana’s delegation voted: Yes: Larry Buschon, Andre Carson, Erin Houchin, Frank J. Mrvan and Greg Pence. No: Jim Baird, Jim Banks, Victoria Spartz and Rudy Yakym.

The passage of the legislation is a win for House Speaker Mike Johnson – after GOP leadership’s defeat on the floor just two days ago – and comes as the Louisiana Republican faces direct challenges to his leadership. GOP Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia filed a resolution last month that could force a vote to remove Johnson from the speakership, and Greene has been citing that threat to escalate pressure on Johnson over issues such as changes to the FISA reauthorization and aid to Ukraine.

Greene was seen on the House floor speaking to Johnson, who later told reporters the two spoke about “all sorts of things.”

“Marjorie and I agree on our conservative philosophy,” Johnson said. “We just have different ideas sometimes on strategy. The important part of governing in a time of divided government like we have is communication with members and understanding the thought process behind it, that they have a say in it.”

The final vote was 273-147 with 147 Republicans and 126 Democrats voting in favor of the reauthorization, and 59 Republicans and 88 Democrats voting against it.

The new version of the FISA bill would be a two-year reauthorization instead of five years, meaning that if former President Donald Trump won the presidential election this year, the legislation would be up in time for Trump to overhaul FISA laws next time around. That change helped appease the conservative House members who originally opposed the bill, sinking it Wednesday.

Johnson organized a classified reading room off the House floor for members to view classified information ahead of Friday’s vote, according to a GOP leadership aide.

Johnson is also scheduled to meet with Trump in Florida later Friday.

As a rank-and-file member of the House, Johnson was opposed to the reauthorization of section 702 of FISA, explaining that only after receiving classified briefings did he gain a “different perspective.”

“When I was a member of (the House Judiciary Committee) I saw the abuses of the FBI, the terrible abuses over and over and over… and then when I became speaker I went to the SCIF and got the confidential briefing on sort of the other perspective on that to understand the necessity of section 702 of FISA and how important it is for national security,” the Louisiana Republican said earlier this week. “And it gave me a different perspective.”

“That’s part of the process, you have to be fully informed,” he added.

White House National Security communications adviser John Kirby reiterated the White House’s support for the reauthorization ahead of the final House floor vote expected later Friday.

“We strongly support the bipartisan effort here to get … 702 reauthorized and we even support – not all – but we support a lot of the reforms that are being considered,” Kirby told reporters Friday.

While Kirby would not say how a failure to reauthorize FISA or Section 702 would impact current surveillance efforts with regard to Iran, he did note the intelligence successes it has contributed to, calling it “critical for all threats.”

In one recent instance, an intelligence official told CNN, the CIA discovered through 702 collected data that a shipment of Chinese-origin chemicals used to produce fentanyl pills was on its way to the United States. The CIA, which had been investigating a cartel’s international supply chain, had queried 702 data for known international brokers with links to cartels and discovered the incoming shipment. It was then able to disrupt the shipment, the official said, which carried “enough precursor chemicals to produce millions of fentanyl pills.”

“The key point in this use case was that time was of the essence here, because CIA’s discovery of that info was just 48 hours ahead of the incoming shipment that was ultimately disrupted,” the official said.

CNN’s Katie Bo Lillis and Aileen Graef contributed to this report.

Statements

“I will always prioritize the security of the American people. That is why I voted for the Reforming Intelligence and Securing America Act (RISA). RISA includes nearly 60 key reforms that address the serious Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) abuses by the FBI, as well as flaws that existed within the law. With its focus on accountability, transparency, and enhanced oversight, this bill represents the largest set of reforms to FISA since its creation in 1978. It safeguards our national security while upholding our fundamental civil liberties. At a time when Joe Biden has made us less safe and allowed a wide-open southern border – which has seen gang members, cartel members and individuals on the terror watch list enter our country – we could not allow this critical program to expire.”

U.S. Rep. Eric Houchin, a Republican from Indiana

“The American people have an absolute right to privacy for their personal property and data unless a court finds evidence indicating they committed a crime. Unfortunately, FISA has become the primary tool by which the intelligence community tramples our constitutional rights and spies on American citizens. I was hopeful that Congress could rally around a crucial amendment to this legislation that would require intelligence officers to obtain a warrant before investigating American citizens. This is the standard practice for law enforcement when searching for an American’s private data.

“The final version of the FISA bill failed to provide any meaningful reform and authorized the federal government to continue spying on American citizens. Moreover, it includes certain FISA privacy protections for members of Congress that are not extended to all Americans. This is completely unethical. I cannot support legislation that allows the intelligence community to continue violating the constitutional rights of American citizens and collect their data without their knowledge.”

U.S. Rep. Jim Baird, a Republican from Indiana