Trump elevating Bill Pulte as intelligence chief could mean FISA spy power expires

CongressTrump elevating Bill Pulte as intelligence chief could mean FISA spy power expiresDemocrats are withholding their votes to extend FISA Section 702 after the president appointed an acting Director of National Intelligence with no national security background.Listen to this article with a free account00:0000:00Bill Pulte on Jan. 12, 2026.Stefani Reynolds / Bloomberg via Getty Images fileShareAdd NBC News to GoogleJune 9, 2026, 6:36 PM EDTBy Sahil Kapur, Julie Tsirkin, Brennan Leach and Gabrielle KhoriatyWASHINGTON — A powerful surveillance tool backed by national security hawks faces a risk of expiring this week after President Donald Trump moved to put it in the hands of an ally without a national security background.Subscribe to read this story ad-free Get unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content.Last week, Trump tapped housing official Bill Pulte to replace the departing Tulsi Gabbard on an acting basis as Director of National Intelligence. Pulte is known for pushing criminal investigations into Trump’s adversaries for mortgage fraud, which Democrats and the targets of those probes say are selective and politically motivated.The DNI oversees Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, or FISA, which gives the administration powers to spy on foreign nationals living abroad without obtaining warrants. The program has long faced criticism from privacy hawks on the left and right who say it enables the government to sweep up data on Americans and that the program is ripe for abuse.The push to renew FISA Section 702 was already hitting roadblocks and divisions. Democrats and some Republicans want changes to the program to protect Americans’ privacy.But the elevation of Pulte has turned it into a dealbreaker for Democrats, who say they won’t vote to reauthorize the program ahead of its expiration deadline on Friday, June 12. The Trump administration and Republicans in Congress argue Section 702 is a national security necessity, esp...