House Speaker Mike Johnson is caught in the middle of a fierce fight about reforming a key federal surveillance tool. (Graeme Sloan/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
The amendment, led by Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., would ban intelligence officials from querying information about U.S. citizens collected through Section 702 without first getting a warrant, save for emergency situations with an imminent threat of death or bodily harm.
"702 is narrowly tailored to foreigners abroad. The proposed amendment would require a warrant to search the head of ISIS and Al-Qaeda’s data. That is wrong. It would endanger Americans. I appreciate the speaker's opposition to the amendment," House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Turner, R-Ohio, told Fox News Digital. "He understands the importance of protecting Americans civil liberties, and our national security."
VEHICLE RAMS INTO GATE AT FBI OFFICE IN ATLANTA, DRIVER ARRESTED
Johnson reasoned that the current bill set to get a vote on Thursday, the Reforming Intelligence and Securing America (RISA) Act, itself already carries the necessary reforms to prevent abuse of Section 702.
The federal government has been accused of abusing backdoor loopholes to the existing FISA Section 702 system to collect data on American citizens during the 2020 Black Lives Matter protests, as well as rioters present at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
Rep. Dan Bishop criticized Johnson's comments during the conference.
"The underlying bill before us is the largest reform of the FBI in a generation and goes beyond Section 702 to implement Title I FISA reforms to end the abuses committed against President Trump," LaHood said.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
Johnson told Fox News Digital during his weekly press conference that House GOP leadership would not whip against the amendment but lauded the RISA bill in its current form.
Elizabeth Elkind is a politics reporter for Fox News Digital leading coverage of the House of Representatives. Previous digital bylines seen at Daily Mail and CBS News.
Follow on Twitter at @liz_elkind and send tips to elizabeth.elkind@fox.com
Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more Fox News politics content.
Subscribed
You've successfully subscribed to this newsletter!
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/johnson-bucks-gop-privacy-hawks-closed-lawmaker-meeting-spy-tool-renewal