House blocks bill to renew FISA spy program after conservative revolt

Washington — A bill that would reauthorize a crucial national security surveillance program was blocked Wednesday by a conservative revolt in the House, pushing the prospects of final passage into uncertainty amid a looming deadline. The legislative impasse also follows an edict earlier in the day from former President Donald Trump to "kill" the measure.

The legislative breakdown comes months after a similar process to reform and reauthorize the surveillance program fell apart before it even reached the House floor. Speaker Mike Johnson, a Republican of Louisiana, has called the program "critically important" but has struggled to find a path forward on the issue, which has been plagued by partisan bickering for years. The procedural vote to bring up the bill failed 193-228. Nineteen Republicans voted no.

The bill under consideration would renew the surveillance program with a series of reforms meant to satisfy critics who complained of civil liberties violations against Americans. But Republican critics complained that those changes did not go far enough, calling into doubt whether the bill backed by the Biden administration and Johnson would have enough votes to advance.