Imagine you spent the past year warning Americans about Donald Trump’s “creeping authoritarianism.” You described the president as “a wannabe dictator who is trying to take over cities and rule by instilling terror in the hearts of American people.” You noted that “he has single-handedly begun to dismantle our democracy.” If you believe such things about any president, then you should be against that president surreptitiously searching Americans’ communications without a warrant. This is especially so after a federal district court ruling last year that warrantless searches of Americans’ communications under Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, or FISA, are a clear violation of the privacy rights protected by the Fourth Amendment. (The ruling is currently pending appeal.)
Section 702 is a mass surveillance program Democratic and Republican presidents have abused.
But 42 Democrats, many of whom have called out Trump’s relentless abuses of power, are among the lawmakers who voted to let the president conduct such surveillance. And they might soon vote for it again. Reauthorization of Section 702, which is set to expire on June 12, is currently being debated on Capitol Hill.
Section 702 is a mass surveillance program Democratic and Republican presidents have abused. Spy agencies such as the FBI, CIA and National Security Agency use Section 702 to collect the communications of hundreds of thousands of people abroad. The government claims that only foreigners abroad can be “targeted” under this authority, but plenty of Americans keep in touch with family, friends, business contacts and others overseas. Virtually any text message, email, call or other communication with someone outside the U.S. could be swept up and accessed by the government without a warrant.
Past administrations have repeatedly abused these spying powers in ways that should alarm anyone who cares about dissent, democracy or free speech. Those administrations have improperly attempted to spy on peaceful protesters, federal and state lawmakers, congressional staff, campaign donors, journalists and even a judge reporting civil rights violations by local police. Opposition to unchecked warrantless surveillance under Section 702 has long united voices across the political spectrum. As House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, wrote in an April 2025 op-ed, “Until we pass a warrant requirement, the government’s powerful surveillance authorities will always be subject to abuse.”
The Trump administration’s actions only heighten these concerns. White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller has repeatedly called for investigations of Americans who criticize the government, and he advocates for extending this authority without any reforms. Miller’s history and his views on FISA should set off alarms for anyone who claims to fear the government abusing its power, but it should especially alarm the Democrats who have taken issue with Trump weaponizing executive power to prosecute his political opponents.
Rep. Jim Himes of Connecticut, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee and a leading proponent of reauthorization, has suggested that he would know “pretty much in real time” if Trump were to abuse the spy program. The government’s record suggests otherwise. Over the last two years, the FBI failed to track all of its searches for U.S. persons’ communications, as the law requires. That means many of these intrusive queries were never even audited, so we don’t know if any misconduct occurred as a result. And this isn’t just an FBI problem. Recent reporting shows serious oversight problems continue to plague the NSA and CIA as well.
Congress should be demanding answers to multiple questions before extending this authority for another day, much less multiple years.
Section 702 defenders are quick to say we should trust the safeguards. But the safeguards haven’t prevented the litany of abuses we have already seen, and over the last year, the Trump administration dismantled the few safeguards that existed. The Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board has been gutted. The watchdog for the Department of Justice was accused by a whistleblower of ignoring 20 instances of possible wrongdoing. The FBI closed an office credited with helping reduce improper Section 702 searches.
More broadly, the court’s oversight is only as strong as the information the government provides. Section 702 depends on the Justice Department and intelligence agencies accurately describing how this power is being used, whether safeguards are working and when violations occur.
Congress should be demanding answers to multiple questions before extending this authority for another day, much less multiple years: How are artificial intelligence systems being used in conjunction with Section 702? Have domestic agencies like Immigration and Customs Enforcement asked the FBI to run searches for Americans’ communications? Has such authority been used in connection with the administration’s efforts to target activists and nonprofits under the banner of “domestic terrorism”?
The 42 Democrats who support reauthorization need to explain who in Trump’s administration they trust with this power. FBI Director Kash Patel, whose agents are reportedly searching FBI databases to investigate journalists he doesn’t like? Andrew Bailey, the deputy director of the FBI, who oversaw a raid of the election headquarters in Fulton County, Georgia? Under Section 702 the deputy director is responsible for approving “sensitive searches” such as those targeting elected officials, political candidates and journalists.
Do these Democrats trust Bill Pulte, who Trump has just named acting director of national intelligence? Pulte is the director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency. He has no intelligence experience. As director of the FHFA, he sent criminal referrals to the Justice Department targeting the president’s political enemies, including a sitting senator, a state attorney general and a sitting Federal Reserve governor. Are these Democrats trusting a Department of Justice whose mission seems to have become prosecuting those the president perceives as his political enemies?
The White House can’t ram through an extension of Section 702 without Democrats’ support. Although these 42 House Democrats voted to hand Section 702’s dangerous spying powers to Trump for what would amount to the rest of his time in office, the Senate last month approved only a 45-day extension. That means there is still an opportunity for our representatives to use their power to enact real safeguards, including a warrant requirement. Congress must act to stop Trump — as they should want to stop any president — from getting a blank check to spy on Americans.
Kia Hamadanchy is a senior policy counsel with the American Civil Liberties Union. Before then, Hamadanchy spent nearly a decade on Capitol Hill in various staff roles.