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The House of<\/span> Representatives is set to vote Wednesday on renewing a spy power that grants the Trump administration warrantless access to thousands of Americans\u2019 communications.<\/p>\n While uniting against President Donald Trump on many fronts, Democrats are split on what to do over the domestic spying power \u2014 and the party\u2019s leadership isn\u2019t giving much guidance, according to a congressional notice obtained by The Intercept.<\/p>\n Clark gave straight up-or-down recommendations on many other pieces of legislation, but not the spying law.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/figure>\n In the notice laying out leadership\u2019s advice on bills up for a vote this week, Democratic Whip Katherine Clark simply explained that the relevant top committee leaders were split. House Intelligence Committee Ranking Member Jim Himes supports a clean reauthorization of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, while Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Jamie Raskin wants further reforms<\/a>.<\/p>\n Clark gave straight up-or-down recommendations on many other pieces of legislation, but not the spying law.<\/p>\n With leadership silent, progressive activists are trying to step into the void to pressure members. They say Trump\u2019s disregard for the rule of law<\/a> in his second term means that representatives should only vote for the law with reforms. Government officials have engaged a pattern of abuses at the Justice Department.<\/p>\n Centrists on two key committees, on the other hand, say that modest changes enacted in 2024 went far enough and Congress should give Trump the so-called \u201cclean\u201d reauthorization he has requested.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cThey, I don\u2019t think, have a stance on this,\u201d Jake Laperruque, deputy director of the Center for Democracy and Technology\u2019s security and surveillance project, said of the Democratic leadership. \u201cI would hope the gutting of oversight systems and what we have seen at DOJ and politicization there would push them against that \u2014 but we don\u2019t know yet.\u201d<\/p>\n With Republicans themselves divided, the margin within the Democratic caucus could prove crucial.<\/p>\n Rather than advising members how to vote, however, Democratic leaders is stepping aside. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., has said that he personally supports reforms but has not signaled that he will pressure his caucus. (Jeffries\u2019s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.)<\/p>\n The debate concerns Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, which last came up for renewal in April 2024.<\/p>\n The law allows intelligence agencies to hoover up ostensibly \u201cforeign\u201d communications, such as text messages and emails, and then search them for information about Americans. Intelligence agencies conduct thousands<\/a> of these \u201cbackdoor\u201d searches<\/a> every year.<\/p>\n Safeguards are supposed to ensure that the National Security Agency and FBI are only searching for information on genuine national security threats. Past reviews of the program have regularly found violations, however, including instances where spy agencies searched for information on Black Lives Matter activists<\/a> and even members<\/a> of Congress<\/a>.<\/p>\n During the last reauthorization, Congress enacted a handful of reforms meant to put tighter rules into place for when intelligence agencies can search through the collected data, and to ensure that there are more after-the-fact audits. Since then, a review<\/a> by an inspector general found a steep decrease in the number of apparent violations.<\/p>\n Supporters of a \u201cclean\u201d reauthorization say those reforms went far enough. Opponents say they still want Congress to force intelligence agents to go to a court to ask for a warrant.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n\n