Fisa spy powers almost certain to expire after Congress fails to act – US politics live | US news
important events
Donald Trump’s hand-picked board of directors at the Kennedy Center is making a last-minute effort to keep his name on the performing arts facility’s façade before a court deadline Friday to remove it.
The panel voted Thursday to postpone U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper’s May 29 ruling that Trump’s name was illegally added to the Kennedy Center, according to a person familiar with the decision who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss a private meeting.
The contact person said that the official application for stay will be made on Friday.
Cooper ruled that changes to the Kennedy Center’s name could only be made by Congress and ordered that references to Trump be removed by Friday. It also prevented the administration from closing the cultural and arts venue due to major renovations planned to begin in July and last for two years.
The board’s move marks a shift from a June 4 memo to Kennedy Center Office of General Counsel staff stating that email signatures, letterheads and other documents must reflect the name “John F Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts” or “Kennedy Center.”
The Kennedy Center’s website does not list the president’s name. And an email sent earlier this week to members offering ticket packages for the June 28 Mark Twain Prize for American Humor ceremony came from the Kennedy Center without Trump’s name.
Sanya Mansur
A key provision of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) will expire Friday night amid backlash over Trump’s announcement that Bill Pulte, the head of the Federal Housing Finance Agency and a major Republican donor, would appoint acting DNI.
While Trump has moved to contain the anger — announcing that he has nominated another senior official, Jay Carney, to fill the post permanently — the U.S. Congress has so far failed to extend Fisa Section 702 through Friday.
While the Pulte controversy has thrust Fisa back into the spotlight, the programme’s balance between civil liberties and national security has been the subject of worrying debate in recent months and years.
“If Bill Pulte had never been part of the conversation, many — if not all — of the core concerns about Section 702 would still exist,” said Jason Pye, vice president of the Due Process Institute, a bipartisan nonprofit focused largely on criminal justice. “These discussions did not begin in this Congress, nor did they begin with this administration.”
Here’s our explainer on what happens next…
Congress fails to act as Fisa’s spy powers expire
Hello and welcome to the USA live blog.
A key surveillance tool that allows the United States to gather intelligence abroad appears certain to expire after Congress fails to temporarily extend the program.
The stalemate is a protest against President Donald Trump’s temporary appointment as head of the country’s intelligence agencies, the AP reported.
Trump doubled down on his choice of Bill Pulte as acting director of national intelligence, even though the federal housing finance regulator has little experience.
In response, Democratic politicians have said they will not support a renewal of Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, known as Fisa, unless Trump withdraws Pulte’s appointment and appoints a permanent replacement.
The House vote failed, with 19 Republicans and nearly all Democrats rejecting the interim measure (198-218). The Senate tried to approve their version but failed because the legislation expired at midnight today.
Following the vote, Trump announced that US attorney Jay Clayton, who previously served as chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, would be permanently named director of intelligence. But the president’s move appears not to have been enough to break up the dispute over Pulte before the deadline.
Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer said:
Pulte needs to go. Can’t be in the DNI role. This is very important.
In other developments:
-
Donald Trump He declared a “big deal” with Iran that could be signed soon “perhaps over the weekend in Europe.”
-
Trump’s carefully selected board of directors Kennedy Center He’s in a last-minute effort to keep his name on the performing arts facility’s façade before a court-ordered deadline of Friday to remove it. The panel voted Thursday to postpone U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper’s May 29 ruling that Trump’s name was illegally added to the Kennedy Center, according to a person familiar with the decision who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss a private meeting.
-
congressman Robert GarcíaTrump, who will chair the House oversight committee next year if Democrats regain the majority in November, requested a statement from the vice president. J.D. Vance and other senior officials for what he called a “White House cover-up” of the Epstein files disclosed by the New York Times.
-
U.S. federal authorities are investigating what appears to be a giant “8647” carved into the grass. National Mall. Live webcam images Viewed from the top of the Washington Monument on Thursday afternoon, a highly visible “8” is visible along with the less visible “6”, “4” and “7” signs.
