Former GOP U.S. Representative Justin Amash (R-MI) is warning Americans about House Speaker Mike Johnson‘s (R-LA) effort to pass a reauthorization of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) Section 702. Johnson, Amash asserts, is relying on the help of Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-NY) and the Congressional Black Caucus.
FISA Section 702 allows warrantless surveillance of non-Americans located outside the U.S. to gather foreign intelligence, often involving U.S. service providers. According to the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), “While critics cite the ‘backdoor search loophole’ to access Americans’ data, supporters deem it vital for national security. It was reauthorized in April 2024 until April 2026.”
Explaining how FISA 702 becomes potentially problematic for Americans, the Chicago Council of Lawyers writes that “foreigners who are targeted by those searches sometimes communicate with Americans. Such communications involving U.S. persons thus are “incidentally” intercepted and “inadvertently” collected under the authority of Section 702.”
Amash wrote: “Is it true that @RepGregoryMeeks and Congressional Black Caucus leaders are whipping votes to help Mike Johnson pass a clean FISA 702 reauthorization? Anyone who empowers Donald Trump—or any president—to spy on Americans without a warrant is betraying the Constitution and the people they serve. The Fourth Amendment isn’t optional. Demand a warrant requirement.”
The American Prospect on Monday published a report about Meeks, the ranking member of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, titled, ‘Congressional Black Caucus to Support Spying Powers Used on BLM Activists.’
Is it true that @RepGregoryMeeks and Congressional Black Caucus leaders are whipping votes to help Mike Johnson pass a clean FISA 702 reauthorization?
Anyone who empowers Donald Trump—or any president—to spy on Americans without a warrant is betraying the Constitution and the…
— Justin Amash (@justinamash) April 13, 2026
While a member of Congress, in 2020, Amash co-sponsored an amendment to the reauthorization bill of Section 702 of the FISA, which would have required the government in criminal cases to seek a warrant based on probable cause before searching surveillance data for information about Americans. The amendment received bipartisan support, but ultimately failed by a vote of 183 to 233. (The future House Speaker Mike Johnson and Rep. Meeks voted in favor of Amash’s amendment.)
Amash, who opposed of the GOP nomination of Trump in the 2016 presidential election, was the first Republican member of Congress to call for the impeachment of Donald Trump, a position he maintained after leaving the party in 2019.