Congress has approved another short-term extension of controversial spy powers that permit U.S. officials to monitor phone calls and text messages from foreign targets.The deadline to renew the surveillance law exposed divisions in the Republican Party and left U.S. national security officials scrambling as they sought to blunt the potential for blind spots in intelligence collection.For months, Republicans on Capitol Hill have searched for a path forward to reauthorize the legislation — a process this short-term extension now only prolongs.The law, Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), allows authorized U.S. officials to gather phone calls and text messages of foreign targets, but it can also scoop up the data of Americans in the process.Here’s what to know as lawmakers again kept the program going under the pressure of a midnight deadline.How long has the law been extended?The surveillance law is in effect for another 45 days, but it’s only a temporary patch.The Senate passed the short-term extension after the House earlier in the week passed its own, more contentious version of the measure. Ultimately, the House passed the Senate’s extension in a 261-111 vote to avert a lapse.That stopgap was needed, Senate Majority Leader John Thune suggested, because the Senate was unwilling to pass the House’s bill after conservatives in the chamber got an unrelated crypto measure attached to it.How does the government use FISA?Under updates to the FISA law enacted in 2008, the government has the ability to compel U.S. phone companies and internet providers to provide access to communications across the “backbone” of the internet. The government can also compel access to phone information that can allow it to obtain the content of calls and also require email providers and others to provide communications from a specific address.And according to a September 2023 public oversight report by the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board — which was formed to periodically assess the program — in addition to the above methods of collecting data, the board refers to an additional “highly sensitive technique” that was only authorized in 2022.The trove of data, including a large portion of U.S. internet traffic, is meant to provide U.S. intelligence agencies with quick access to data regarding foreigners in other countries.As CNN has reported, a good portion of what appears in the Presidential Daily Brief has some data that comes from the 702 program, according to the National Security Agency.What’s at risk if it expires?It depends on who you ask.Senior national security officials have for years said Section 702 is critical to thwarting terror attacks, stemming the flow of fentanyl into the U.S. and stopping ransomware attacks on critical infrastructure.The authority is now more critical than ever, officials say, amid the delicate ceasefire in the U.S. war with Iran and a heightened threat environment.Civil liberties groups on the left and the right, meanwhile, argue the surveillance authority risks infringing on Americans’ privacy. The program is currently warrantless, in large part because it is aimed at foreigners, not Americans, but U.S. citizens do get swept up in the surveillance when they are interacting with targets abroad.The law, which verged on expiration multiple times in recent months, became embroiled in the broader Republican battle over the reach of the government’s surveillance powers.And some Democrats who have previously supported the spy program expressed concern over renewing it under a Trump administration that they do not trust, making the margins Republicans have to rely on even smaller.At first, the Trump administration did not weigh in on how they wanted Republican lawmakers to handle the renewal of the law, allowing divisions to build and fester. The president and his supporters have previously conflated the law with other legal methods used to investigate Russian interference in U.S. elections and allegations that people associated with the Trump campaign in 2016 were connected to those Russian efforts.But earlier this month, President Donald Trump called for a clean reauthorization of the law for 18 months. That did not sway conservative Republicans, who have insisted that the bill include reforms like warrants before querying Americans’ communications.“I won’t oppose this short extension, but only because it is my fervent hope and determination it will give us the time to work together across the aisle to implement meaningful reforms,” said Rep. Jamie Raskin, the top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee.Some House Republicans spoke against it ahead of the vote. Kentucky Rep. Thomas Massie has been among the Republicans pushing for a warrants requirement.“A short-term infringement of the Constitution is still an infringement of the Constitution,” Massie said on the House floor.Thune said Thursday he believed the extension into June would allow Congress to work with the White House on reforms to the program.“We’ll get to work in earnest and try to find something you actually are able to do a long-term extension of the authorization with,” Thune said.Joey Cappelletti with the Associated Press contributed to this report.

WASHINGTON —

Congress has approved another short-term extension of controversial spy powers that permit U.S. officials to monitor phone calls and text messages from foreign targets.

The deadline to renew the surveillance law exposed divisions in the Republican Party and left U.S. national security officials scrambling as they sought to blunt the potential for blind spots in intelligence collection.

For months, Republicans on Capitol Hill have searched for a path forward to reauthorize the legislation — a process this short-term extension now only prolongs.

The law, Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), allows authorized U.S. officials to gather phone calls and text messages of foreign targets, but it can also scoop up the data of Americans in the process.

Here’s what to know as lawmakers again kept the program going under the pressure of a midnight deadline.

How long has the law been extended?

The surveillance law is in effect for another 45 days, but it’s only a temporary patch.

The Senate passed the short-term extension after the House earlier in the week passed its own, more contentious version of the measure. Ultimately, the House passed the Senate’s extension in a 261-111 vote to avert a lapse.

That stopgap was needed, Senate Majority Leader John Thune suggested, because the Senate was unwilling to pass the House’s bill after conservatives in the chamber got an unrelated crypto measure attached to it.

How does the government use FISA?

Under updates to the FISA law enacted in 2008, the government has the ability to compel U.S. phone companies and internet providers to provide access to communications across the “backbone” of the internet. The government can also compel access to phone information that can allow it to obtain the content of calls and also require email providers and others to provide communications from a specific address.

And according to a September 2023 public oversight report by the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board — which was formed to periodically assess the program — in addition to the above methods of collecting data, the board refers to an additional “highly sensitive technique” that was only authorized in 2022.

The trove of data, including a large portion of U.S. internet traffic, is meant to provide U.S. intelligence agencies with quick access to data regarding foreigners in other countries.

As CNN has reported, a good portion of what appears in the Presidential Daily Brief has some data that comes from the 702 program, according to the National Security Agency.

What’s at risk if it expires?

It depends on who you ask.

Senior national security officials have for years said Section 702 is critical to thwarting terror attacks, stemming the flow of fentanyl into the U.S. and stopping ransomware attacks on critical infrastructure.

The authority is now more critical than ever, officials say, amid the delicate ceasefire in the U.S. war with Iran and a heightened threat environment.

Civil liberties groups on the left and the right, meanwhile, argue the surveillance authority risks infringing on Americans’ privacy. The program is currently warrantless, in large part because it is aimed at foreigners, not Americans, but U.S. citizens do get swept up in the surveillance when they are interacting with targets abroad.

The law, which verged on expiration multiple times in recent months, became embroiled in the broader Republican battle over the reach of the government’s surveillance powers.

And some Democrats who have previously supported the spy program expressed concern over renewing it under a Trump administration that they do not trust, making the margins Republicans have to rely on even smaller.

At first, the Trump administration did not weigh in on how they wanted Republican lawmakers to handle the renewal of the law, allowing divisions to build and fester. The president and his supporters have previously conflated the law with other legal methods used to investigate Russian interference in U.S. elections and allegations that people associated with the Trump campaign in 2016 were connected to those Russian efforts.

But earlier this month, President Donald Trump called for a clean reauthorization of the law for 18 months. That did not sway conservative Republicans, who have insisted that the bill include reforms like warrants before querying Americans’ communications.

“I won’t oppose this short extension, but only because it is my fervent hope and determination it will give us the time to work together across the aisle to implement meaningful reforms,” said Rep. Jamie Raskin, the top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee.

Some House Republicans spoke against it ahead of the vote. Kentucky Rep. Thomas Massie has been among the Republicans pushing for a warrants requirement.

“A short-term infringement of the Constitution is still an infringement of the Constitution,” Massie said on the House floor.

Thune said Thursday he believed the extension into June would allow Congress to work with the White House on reforms to the program.

“We’ll get to work in earnest and try to find something you actually are able to do a long-term extension of the authorization with,” Thune said.

Joey Cappelletti with the Associated Press contributed to this report.