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Jun 8, 2026

Both Republicans AND Democrats Oppose FISA Reauthorization

A bipartisan group of lawmakers are opposing the FISA Reauthorization. Ana Kasparian discusses on The Young Turks. Do you agree with TYT's take?
  • 8 minutes
The Trump administration has now thrown a monkey wrench into its plans to authorize more warrantless, yes warrantless, surveillance of the American people. You know that means? That means allowing government officials to spy on Americans without getting a warrant from a judge first. And [00:00:19] that monkey wrench, by the way, is Bull, Bull is actually perfect name, but Bill Poulty, Bill Poulty. That name has been coming up a lot lately. So let's talk about that. So this all has to do with section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, also known as [00:00:38] FISA. So section 702 allows the federal government to spy on people overseas who are utilizing American communication systems. But there's a huge catch. While on the surface it appears [00:00:53] as though they're spying on foreigners in other countries, the reality is Those individuals might be speaking to American citizens. So if those foreigners are in contact with Americans, then our government gets to spy on said Americans. If you are talking to a foreigner outside [00:01:14] the country, maybe it's a family member or something like that. Under section 702, the federal government can listen in on your conversation without a warrant from a judge, which is unconstitutional. falls under the category of unreasonable searches and seizures, they shouldn't do that, but they've [00:01:32] been doing that. And section 702 keeps getting renewed every time it expires. Now, unfortunately, section 702 has historically enjoyed bipartisan support over the years, but it needs to be reapproved by Congress before Friday of this week, which makes the story very timely, very [00:01:52] important. Trump right now is pushing very aggressively to make sure that doesn't happen, that it does not expire. He wants it to be renewed. So he uh is pushing for Congress to renew it. And in March, he stated the following. When used properly, FISA is an effective tool [00:02:11] to keep Americans safe. The fact is, whether you like FISA or not, it is extremely important to our military. So President Donald Trump, who famously was furious when he found out the Obama administration was spying in on him during his 2016 campaign, is now saying that [00:02:32] the American people should be spied on because this is an incredibly important tool. Noted, noted. I mean, obviously Trump has shown on multiple occasions that what's good for the goose is not good for the gander. So he expects special treatment, of course, but for our purposes, [00:02:50] spy away. On Sunday, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth went to bat for Section 702 because of course he did. At a time of growing threats around the world, Congress should be strengthening the tools that protect our nation, not weakening them. Reauthorizing Section 702 is about protecting [00:03:09] Americans' privacy and protecting American security, I'm sure you're very worried about Americans' privacy and security, Hegseth. finishes that off with we can and must do both, right? I've never felt less safe in terms of national security under the leadership of Donald Trump and [00:03:31] the weekend anchor at Fox who had a drinking problem and was very abusive to his former wife. But anyway, allegedly, Other Republican senators who have opposed an extension for Section 702 include John Kennedy, Josh Hawley, Rand Paul. Those are the Republicans among [00:03:51] others. But until very recently, it seemed as though Section 702 would still be reauthorized, very little challenge to that, right? However, Trump decided to appoint Bill Poulty as Tulsi Gabbard's successor as the Director of National Intelligence. And it appears that Republicans [00:04:11] are worried about that and it's making them rethink section 702. So Poulty who now serves as the acting director of national intelligence is widely seen as unqualified for his role because it turns out that he's unqualified for his role. Homeboys is a real estate developer [00:04:31] with no intelligence experience whatsoever, none. What are we doing? What are we doing? Before this, he was working in the Trump administration and will continue working in the Trump administration on housing regulations. So look, Trump has given some mixed signals on Pulte. So on one hand, [00:04:56] he has suggested that Pulte is only a temporary stopgap until we find a replacement for Tulsi Gabbard, real successor to Gabbard. But on the other hand, Trump seems excited at the idea of Pulte investigating claims of voter fraud in the 2020 election because Trump is a child. [00:05:14] He's the current president and can't let 2020 go. So Who knows? All we do know is that right now, Pulte is the acting DNI. And so, either way, Section 702 friendly Democrats have also [00:05:36] revolted after Pulte's nomination, but I give them no credit. These people are total clowns. If you're a Democrat, decided to green light our federal government spying on American citizens without a warrant? You're trash. To now say, now we're worried because it's going to be [00:05:55] Bill Pulte. You're trash. If you're a Democrat who supported this, and then suddenly pretended like it's a big deal because Pulte is in the mix. You're a traitor to the American people. You are totally okay with government officials spying on American citizens without a warrant. [00:06:13] Get a warrant. Why is it so good to get a warrant, but God forbid. So now Senate Democrats have pulled their support for the extension, now they have, except John Fetterman. Because among the members of Congress who will be remembered in the trash bin of [00:06:35] history, Fetterman is like a prime candidate, prime example of that. So time will tell what happens to section 702. I don't know if there are enough votes to avoid reauthorizing it. we will have some more updates as this story develops. The other night I was scrolling [00:06:55] through shop TYT when I saw our awesome No Money for Wars hat and thought I need that. I click add to cart ready to dig out my wallet, but it's on the other side of the room. But right there in checkout. glowing like a beacon is that glorious purple shop pay button. One tap [00:07:12] and boom, order place. That's the magic of Shopify, the platform behind millions of businesses and 10 % of US e-commerce, including our own shop TYT. That purple shop pay button is the best converting checkout on the planet. It means fewer abandoned carts and more actual sales. [00:07:29] If you're on a business, Shopify makes it super simple to build a beautiful site with hundreds of templates and to blast email and social campaigns wherever you're customers are scrolling. 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The Young Turks: June 8, 2026