The House of Representatives rejected a short-term extension of the nation’s warrantless surveillance program on Thursday, with lawmakers leaving town for a scheduled week-long recess. The spy powers are set to expire, putting the country in a legal gray area.

Concerns Over New DNI

The legislation would have kept Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) active through July 2. However, Democrats refused to support the extension after President Trump announced that he picked Bill Pulte as the acting director of national intelligence. Pulte currently heads the Federal Housing Finance Agency and has no relevant national security experience.

Republicans urged members to pass the extension to avoid a lapse in security. Rep. Jim Jordan argued that the bill would simply give Congress “three weeks to continue to hammer it out.” Rep. Rick Crawford warned about upcoming events that could be targeted by terrorists if the program goes dark, including the FIFA World Cup games and America’s 250th birthday celebrations.

Democrats heavily criticized Pulte’s upcoming appointment, pointing to his lack of intelligence background and his history of referring criminal charges against the president’s political opponents. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and other top Democrats released a joint statement before the vote, saying, “Bill Pulte has no relevant national security experience.”

Original reporting: Tampa Free Press — read the source article.