Two key Trump administration officials huddled with Senate Republicans behind closed doors Wednesday to discuss a powerful but controversial surveillance authority that expires next month, an issue that for years has bitterly divided privacy hawks and intelligence-focused lawmakers.
FBI Director Kash Patel and CIA Director John Ratcliffe came to Capitol Hill as the Republican-controlled Congress grapples with how to reauthorize Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act and whether to include further changes to the spy authority such as a warrant requirement for certain collected information.
Section 702 allows the U.S. government to collect digital communications of foreigners located outside the country, but it also sweeps up the communications of Americans and allows the FBI to search through data without a warrant, using information such as an email address.
