Thune: Democrats Must Not Expose Americans to the Consequences of Letting FISA Section 702 Lapse

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WASHINGTON — U.S. Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) today delivered the following remarks on the Senate floor: Thune’s remarks below (as delivered): “Mr. President, in four days, authorization for our nation’s most critical intelligence-gathering tool will expire. “Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act allows the U.S. government to target the digital information of foreign actors located outside of the United States for specific national security purposes, such as counterterrorism, counterintelligence, and stopping the spread of weapons of mass destruction. “Established in the wake of September 11 to address gaps in foreign intelligence collection, this program plays a vital role in foiling bad actors, including terrorists, cyber criminals, and drug and weapons traffickers. “Our nation’s policymakers – from the White House to the Pentagon to Congress – rely upon intelligence acquired from Section 702 on a near daily basis. “Twenty-four percent of the National Security Agency’s intelligence reports in 2025 contained Section 702 information. “So did 62 percent of products in the CIA’s daily World Intelligence Review. “And 63 percent of articles in the President’s Daily Brief. “And just to bring this down to the concrete, Mr. President, more than 90 percent – 90 percent – of synthetic drug disruptions enabled by the CIA in 2025 relied on Section 702 information. “Synthetic drug disruptions – that’s operations targeting fentanyl and fentanyl analogues: poison intended for America’s streets. “The CIA reports that one raid alone supported by Section 702 resulted in the seizure of more than one metric ton of fentanyl pills from a facility in Mexico. “And drug disruption is just one activity supported by 702 information. “Section 702 provided intelligence that helped prevent a terrorist attack at a Taylor Swift concert. “It enabled law enforcement to warn potential U.S. victims of ransomware attacks planned by North Korea. “It helped enable the successful mission against al-Qaeda’s top leader, Ayman al-Zawahiri, in 2022. “It’s identified threats to U.S. troops and provided information key to pursuing the release of Americans held hostage abroad. “And the list goes on. “Suffice it to say that Section 702 plays a vital role in providing intelligence to protect our country. “Now, Mr. President … we’ve considered multiple 702 reauthorizations since the program’s inception, and each time there is a robust discussion of the program and its safeguards, to ensure that civil liberties are protected in the collection of vital intelligence. “Two years ago, a bipartisan coalition of senators voted to reauthorize this program with 56 bipartisan reforms that have now been fully implemented by the Trump administration. “The result is that 702 is the most overseen intelligence collection tool in the world. “And over the past several weeks, both Senate Democrats and Republicans have been working on a Section 702 reauthorization in good faith. “The bill released by Chairmen Cotton and Grassley last week included additional bipartisan reforms over and above those included in the House-passed bill, and over and above the robust guardrails already in place to ensure that 702 operates within the law and with respect for civil liberties. “And on Friday, Mr. President, I would have expected those Democrats who’ve been working with us to vote to advance the bill. “After all, some of the provisions in the bill were included at their request. “But they didn’t. “Why? “Because they disagree with a short-term personnel choice made by the president – his temporary appointment for acting director of national intelligence. “Now, Mr. President, Democrats have every right to disagree with the president’s choice for this position – no matter how short-term the appointment is likely to be. “But I invite my Democrat colleagues to think about what they are doing here, in holding this vital intelligence collection program hostage because they don’t like the president’s temporary – temporary – DNI pick. “I’ve talked at some length here today about the critical role that Section 702 plays on a near daily basis in protecting Americans from a range of threats. “And you don’t have to take my word for it. “The top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee has also made it clear that he regards Section 702 as a key intelligence source. “And yet he and a number of his colleagues are holding up reauthorization because they disagree with the president’s – again, temporary – DNI pick. “Mr. President, without Democrat cooperation, in four days the Section 702 program will go dark. “America’s enemies, however, will not – will not – go dark. “They will continue working against the United States, whether that’s conducting cyberattacks, planning terrorist activity, or trafficking fentanyl and other deadly drugs into our country. “The only difference is that our intelligence agencies will have a greatly reduced capacity to discover these activities. “Mr. President, I hope my Democrat colleagues will rethink their decision to hold the 702 program hostage before we all have cause to regret the consequences.”