Some Senate Republicans have turned attention to a powerful spy authority as Donald Trump’s picks for key national security roles go through the confirmation process, with the lawmakers seeking to emphasize their positions on the important yet controversial surveillance tool that bitterly divided both parties last Congress.
Several GOP senators this week asked attorney general pick Pam Bondi and CIA director pick John Ratcliffe about where they stand on Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, which allows the U.S. government to collect digital communications of foreigners located outside the country.
Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla., told Ratcliffe at a confirmation hearing before the Senate Intelligence Committee Wednesday that the lives of “a group of folks” were threatened on Election Day by “an ISIS terrorist in Oklahoma City that was discovered initially” by the surveillance authority.
