President Donald Trump asked Congress on Wednesday to pass a short-term extension of a major spy powers program that’s set to expire this week after his appointment of Bill Pulte as interim intelligence director helped derail a longer reauthorization.
The request comes after Republicans urged the White House to name a permanent director of national intelligence to free up the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, or FISA, which expires Friday. House Speaker Mike Johnson returned to the White House on Wednesday to discuss the bill, after meeting with Trump a day earlier about naming a permanent intelligence chief.
“I am asking Congress to send me a short-term extension of FISA to provide time for the selection and confirmation of a permanent Head of the Agency,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.