In a move dividing the GOP, 19 House Republicans joined Democrats in voting against a motion to debate legislation reauthorizing the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA).
The vote comes after former President Donald Trump urged Republicans in the chamber to “KILL FISA,” arguing that the law was used to spy on his presidential campaign.
Reps. Andy Biggs (R-AZ), Dan Bishop (R-NC), Lauren Boebert (R-CO), Tim Burchett (R-TN), Michael Cloud (R-TX), Eli Crane (R-AZ), Matt Gaetz (R-FL), Bob Good (R-VA), Paul Gosar (R-AZ), Clay Higgins (R-LA), Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL), Nancy Mace (R-SC), Cory Mills (R-FL), Ralph Norman (R-SC) and Scott Perry (R-PA), among others, voted against the motion.
19 Republicans stood strong and defeated the FISA bill today, instead insisting on real reform to FISA (no secret courts should be allowed to spy on Americans). https://t.co/uUNf8FkAVA
— Rand Paul (@RandPaul) April 10, 2024
These individuals were heavily criticized by their fellow Republicans for going against the majority in advancing the rule.
Rep. Tom McClintock (R-CA) floated “severe sanctions” for the anti-FISA Republicans.
“Those are not individual decisions, they are decisions that are made collectively by the majority … and implemented by the majority, acting as a majority,” McClintock told reporters. “That’s what’s collapsed in the House, and that’s what needs to be fixed.”
Some of the 19 House Republicans mocked McClintock’s threat to censure them.
“What, I’m going to be censured because I wanted amendments? I wanted debate,” Burchett told the Washington Examiner. “I wanted fairness — even with people I don’t agree with, I wanted them to be able to have a say.”
“I don’t know about you, but back in Tennessee, we call that democracy. Well, and please accuse me of being a proponent of democracy,” the Tennessee congressman added.
Mills shared Burchett’s thoughts, saying he would “love” for McClintock to try and censure him.
“Go ahead and try to censure us or expel us for protecting American privacy,” Mills said. “Yeah, let’s see how that goes over the American people.”
The Hill pointed out that nearly all the Republicans who voted against advancing the bill are members of the House Freedom Caucus, which argued that FISA surveillance violates Americans’ Fourth Amendment rights since a warrant is not required.
“At the end of the day, we’ve got to make sure that our government can’t keep spying on us citizens without a warrant,” the chairman of the caucus, Good, said during a press conference in February 2024.
