President Trump is using his leverage over a critical surveillance law to force Congress to pass his voting restrictions, tying the renewal of Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act directly to his stalled SAVE America Act.
In posts on Truth Social Sunday, Trump made the connection explicit. "I'm against FISA if it doesn't come with The Save America Act (Full version!) firmly attached to it," he wrote, leaving no room for negotiation on the two otherwise unrelated pieces of legislation.
Section 702 is one of the government's most powerful and contested surveillance tools. It allows federal agencies to monitor foreigners located abroad, though in practice the system also captures communications between those targets and Americans within the United States. The law has drawn fierce opposition from privacy advocates while security officials have defended it as essential to national defense. Its previous renewal faced significant resistance, and this time the stakes have become entangled with Trump's broader voting agenda.
The SAVE America Act requires proof of citizenship to register to vote and a photo ID to cast a ballot. Trump has made voting restrictions a centerpiece of his political operation, pushing Republican senators hard to pass the measure. The bill drew 50 votes earlier this month in the Senate but fell short of the 60-vote threshold needed to advance. Senate Majority Leader John Thune has said the votes simply "aren't there" to pass it, even on a party-line basis.
Trump's demand to couple the two bills now puts security hawks in an awkward position. Lawmakers from both parties expressed concern Sunday about what the bill would empower, particularly given Trump's controversial choice of Bill Pulte as acting director of national intelligence. Pulte, a MAGA enforcer with no national security background, has used his housing regulator post to send criminal referrals against Trump's perceived enemies.
Republican senators, including Majority Leader Thune, have publicly refused to defend Pulte's fitness for the DNI role. Thune told reporters, "We don't need a weaponized DNI." The concern is acute because Section 702's surveillance powers are sweeping and largely conducted without warrants, meaning a director willing to weaponize the agency could access Americans' communications broadly.
The timing adds pressure. Section 702 lapsed for the first time since 2008 after the House failed to extend it on Friday. The vote was 198-218, with 19 Republicans joining all Democrats to block the renewal. Some conservative Republicans, including Reps. Thomas Massie and Chip Roy and Senator Mike Lee, have long pushed to require warrants whenever Americans' communications are searched, but their concerns have not moved the needle.
Trump initially appeared to ease tensions by nominating Manhattan U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton as permanent DNI nominee, a more establishment choice. But on Sunday he turned on Republicans again, attacking them for "moving too fast on nominations!!!" and seeming to double down on keeping Pulte in the role. Clayton is set for a confirmation hearing Wednesday.
Author James Rodriguez: "Trump's move to weaponize FISA renewal as leverage for voting restrictions is a new level of hostage-taking, and it puts Republicans in a bind they created by nominating Pulte in the first place."
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