Trump move revives stalled FISA reauthorization talks

President Donald Trump’s decision to look for a new nominee to temporarily lead the Office of the Director of National Intelligence has given fresh momentum to a stalled effort to renew key surveillance authority under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. The Senate had been close to advancing a bipartisan threeyear reauthorization of Section 702, which allows foreign intelligence collection, before the White House tapped Bill Pulte, the current head of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, for the interim intelligence post. Some Democrats and Republicans objected to Pulte’s lack of intelligence experience, and the dispute helped derail the deal. Trump later said he was interviewing several possible replacements and asked Congress for a shortterm extension to keep the program operating while a permanent choice is made. Lawmakers are still weighing whether a brief extension or a longer reauthorization is the best path forward as Friday’s deadline approaches.