During this week’s broadcast of Fox News Channel’s “Sunday Night in America,” House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) explained that while efforts to renew Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) will require a 60-vote majority in the U.S. Senate, the so-called SAVE America Act could come through another round of reconciliation.
“You know, Speaker, you were always the con law expert,” host Trey Gowdy said. “I was just kind of a little country trial lawyer when we served together, so you don’t have to help me with this one. You can’t do FISA or the SAVE America Act through Reconciliation, or can you? Because it looks like the President [wants] maybe kind of combined the two. He would like both of them. Can you do that via reconciliation, or does the Senate need 60 votes to get FISA and the SAVE America Act done?”
Johnson replied, “Well, FISA will require 60 votes, and I’m certainly hopeful that the Democrats will put their shenanigans aside and finally approve the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. As you know, Trey, that’s probably the most important National Security tool that we have with regard to Intelligence, because two-thirds of the President’s daily national security briefing comes from the Intel that we gather through Section 702 of FISA. It’s not a game, it endangers the homeland, they’ve got to get it done. The President has named the new permanent Director of National Intelligence, Jay Clayton, who is eminently qualified, as everybody agrees. So, let’s hope they put the politics aside on Monday and get this done, get FISA reauthorized. On the other hand, on the SAVE America Act, I’m afraid it is going to have to go on a reconciliation bill, because, as shocking as it is, Trey, Democrats are against anything with regard to commonsense election security.”
“All that bill does on its face, the current version, is it requires proof of citizenship to register to vote and a photo I.D. when you show up to do so, that’s commonsense, that’s a 90/10 issue in public opinion polling, and yet no Democrat will go along with it,” he added. “So we’re going to have to do it on our own. I’m going to attach it to the reconciliation 3.0 bill, and I’ve told the President we’re going to work really hard to make sure that gets to his desk, because it’s essential for the country, and for again the faith in a free and fair election.”
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