Massie: Two Bad FISA Bills Killed at 2am—Fight Isn't Over

Rep. Thomas Massie says two versions of a FISA reauthorization were pushed to the House floor overnight, both of which he argues would have let federal agencies continue surveilling Americans without the warrant protections critics have been demanding for years. Per Massie, both versions were blocked, and the House ended up punting by granting roughly two more weeks to produce a better bill.

The detail that deserves attention isn't the delay — it's how the delay was won. Getting bad legislation pulled at 2 a.m. doesn't happen by accident. It happens because a handful of members refuse to be managed: they withhold rule votes, they whip against their own leadership when needed, and they make it painful for party leaders to cut deals behind closed doors. That's the procedural toolkit working exactly as designed. More members should use it more often.

The underlying issue — warrantless querying of Americans' communications swept up under Section 702 — is not a partisan complaint. It's the same concern raised by the FBI's own court-documented misuse of the database: searches against protesters, political donors, journalists, a sitting U.S. senator, and members of Congress. Any "reform" that doesn't close the backdoor-search loophole isn't reform; it's laundering.

Two weeks is not a lot of time, and "fix FISA" is vague enough to cover almost any outcome. Expect leadership to try again with a bill that looks like reform, sounds like reform, and quietly preserves the status quo — an amendment that adds reporting requirements instead of a warrant requirement, a sunset that's really a rollover, carve-outs that swallow the rule.

What to do while the clock runs:

• Call your House member and both Senators. Ask one question: "Will you vote against any FISA 702 reauthorization that does not require a warrant to query Americans' communications?" Write down the answer.
• Watch the Rules Committee. Bad bills live or die based on what amendments get made in order. If a warrant-requirement amendment is blocked from a floor vote, the fix is fake.
• Share the specifics, not the vibes. "FISA bad" doesn't move votes. "Warrant for U.S. person queries" does.

Massie and the members who held the line bought two weeks. That window closes fast. If you want a better bill at the end of it, the pressure has to show up now — not after the vote.

Source: @RepThomasMassie on X