House Freedom Caucus vows 'gloves are coming off' as FISA deadline looms

By Fox News · Fox News

Conservative House Republicans are escalating a fight over government surveillance as Congress reopens debate this week on a controversial warrantless spying program. Members of the House Freedom Caucus are pledging to hold firm on adding a permanent ban on central bank digital currency (CBDC) to any legislation that reauthorizes Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA). But the proposal faces widespread opposition from Senate Democrats and is viewed as dead on arrival in the upper chamber. The cross-chamber standoff threatens to complicate Congress’ ability to meet a mid-June deadline to renew the spy law, which the Trump administration argues is a critical national security tool. "If the Senate thinks they're going to keep rolling over us, it's just not going to happen," Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, said at a news conference in late April, referring to the Senate’s opposition to including a CBDC ban in a FISA renewal bill. SPEAKER JOHNSON ONE STEP CLOSER TO RENEWING CONTROVERSIAL SPY PROGRAM AFTER CONSERVATIVES FALL IN LINE Both chambers in April approved a 45-day FISA extension to allow for more time for negotiations. House GOP privacy hawks objected to the short-term measure, citing its omission of a CBDC ban. "CBDC can still make it across the finish line. Let's just push on," the Texas Republican added. "The Senate will respond to the people if they push hard enough. I'm positive on it." GOP privacy hawks argue a CBDC ban is a critical privacy guardrail against the Federal Reserve issuing a digital currency that could be used to surveil and potentially cut access to Americans’ financial transactions. "They don't want the government monitoring their bank accounts, telling them what they can buy, when they can buy it and when they're not allowed to buy," Rep. Scott Perry, R-Pa., said at a news conference, referring to his constituents’ concerns about a government-issued digital token. The group has repeatedly sought to add a CBDC ban to variou…