House votes to renew foreign spy program and creates pathway to end DHS shutdown
WASHINGTON — The Republican-controlled House voted Wednesday to renew a powerful foreign surveillance program and passed a Senate-approved measure that would jumpstart the process to fund ICE and Border Patrol for the rest of President Donald Trump’s term.
The House voted 235-191 to extend the critical spy program, known as Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), which expires this week.
Lawmakers later voted 215-211 to pass the GOP budget resolution previously approved by the Senate after a revolt by House Republicans over an unrelated farm bill delayed final passage by more than five hours.
Asked to describe the chaotic day in one word, Rep. Jim McGovern, D-Mass., replied: “S—show.”
The successful budget vote could unlock the GOP support needed to fund the Department of Homeland Security, which has been shut down for a record 74 days because of Democrats’ demands for reforms to the Trump administration’s aggressive immigration enforcement tactics.
Wednesday was one of the more tumultuous days in the House in recent memory. Earlier, a handful of conservative hard-liners blocked a key procedural vote, preventing several of Trump’s legislative priorities from coming to the floor. The difficulty in passing even routine motions highlighted, again, the challenges of the GOP’s narrow 217-212 majority as the 2026 midterm elections approach.
In that vote series, Johnson and his team could be seen on the floor desperately trying to persuade the rabble-rousers — including Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., Tim Burchett, R-Tenn., and Harriet Hageman, R-Wyo. — to flip their no votes to yes.
After two hours of arm-twisting and cajoling in public view, Johnson’s efforts proved successful, and the House passed the rule 216-210. In addition to the Republican budget and the renewal of FISA, the rule also advanced the farm bill, which sets agriculture policy for the next five years, on its way to a final vote.
“These are some of the most complicated public policy matters that Congress deals with, and they’re all sandwiched together because of deadlines that are upon us,” Johnson said as he came off the floor after the rule vote.
Final passage of the farm bill could happen Thursday as Republicans try to work out a dispute over year-round sales of E15, a biofuels blend.
Rep. Glenn Thompson, R-Pa., chair of the Agriculture Committee, expressed confidence the farm bill will pass Thursday. Meanwhile, Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., called the bill “fake” and vowed that it won’t pass in its current form, but she said she’ll vote yes and work to change it in House-Senate negotiations.
The spy program is set to expire Thursday. Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said that the House-passed bill isn’t going anywhere in his chamber and that he’s working on a 45-day extension.
Rep. Jim Himes of Connecticut, the top Democrat on the Intelligence Committee, urged colleagues not to let the surveillance program expire, saying the House’s three-year extension included modest reforms that would provide critical checks.
“If we saw the slightest hint that these authorities were being abused, I wouldn’t be standing here today to support this bill,” Himes said in a floor speech. “Section 702 is not a dragnet. It is not an authority that can be used to surveil Americans. … And despite the fact that we’ve heard this word a lot today, it is not ‘unconstitutional.’”
Separately, the budget measure would create a pathway to reopen DHS. While there will be no quick resolution — the House is leaving soon on a weeklong recess — the measure instructs congressional committees to draft legislation and authorize $70 billion to pay for Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Border Patrol for roughly the next three years.
Using the fast-track process known as budget reconciliation, Republicans would be able to bypass a Democratic filibuster and pass the legislation through the Senate with just 51 votes, without agreeing to any policy changes demanded by Democrats, such as mandating body cameras and limiting raids in sensitive locations like schools and hospitals.
With Republicans making progress, it’s possible that other agencies within DHS could be funded relatively quickly. Before House members leave Washington on Thursday, Johnson could bring a separate Senate-passed bill to the floor that would fund the DHS agencies other than ICE and the Border Patrol, though a final decision has not been made.
That Senate-passed bill includes funding for such agencies as the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Coast Guard and the Transportation Security Administration.
Frank Thorp V contributed.
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