Senate passes short-term extension of surveillance law – US politics live

During another contentious hearing on Capitol Hill today, health secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr said he would not insist that Donald Trump undergo an “assessment of his mental fitness and emotional stability”.

In a line of questioning from Representative Mark Takano, a Democrat from California, Kennedy said he would “absolutely not” recommend any type of evaluation of the president, after Takano probed him about Trump’s profanity-laden posts on Truth Social, where he demanded Iran reopen the strait of Hormuz, and threatened to eradicate a “whole civilization” if Iran didn’t agree to a deal that reopens the waterway.

“We can all see that this president is mentally unstable, emotionally unstable, and is unfit to lead this country,” Takano said, while addressing Kennedy. “You, as the nation’s top health official, have a particular role here, and you are choosing your loyalty to Donald Trump over your loyalty to the constitution.”

Senator Ron Wyden, a Demcrat from Oregon, said that the decision to pass a clean 10-day extension of section 702 of Fisa was ultimately the right decision in order to “make much needed reforms” to the provision, which allows intelligence agencies to collect and review texts and emails sent to and from foreigners living outside the US without a warrant.

“A significant bicameral, bipartisan coalition sent a resounding message that government surveillance must be reformed to protect Americans’ rights,” said Wyden, who sits on the Senate intelligence committee.

The supreme court handed a win Friday to oil and gas companies fighting lawsuits over coastal land loss and environmental degradation in Louisiana.

The 8-0 procedural decision gives the companies a new day in federal court after a state jury ordered Chevron to pay upward of $740m to clean up damage to the state’s coastline, one of multiple similar lawsuits.

Backed by the Trump administration, the companies argued the case belongs in federal court because they began oil production and refining during the second world war as US contractors. They deny responsibility for land loss in Louisiana and say it is wrong to sue them for what they did before state environmental regulations were in place.

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The House education and workforce committee has begun its hearing with health secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr to discuss the administration’s primary objectives.

During the proceedings, chairman Tim Walberg questioned whether Kennedy bore responsibility for the recent measles outbreak. Kennedy responded: “I’ve been accused of that. The accusation is not science-based.”

Kennedy said that the Texas outbreak actually started in January 2025, a month before he assumed leadership of HHS. He added that the infection began within a rural Mennonite community known for its low vaccination rates.

“The Mennonites have not been vaccinated since 1796,” Kennedy said. “This has nothing to do with me.”

The measles outbreak is still ongoing, with Utah emerging as a major center of infections in the US, as an outbreak that has been building for some time continues to expand. The outbreak originally began in Texas more than a year ago and has since spread to most states across the country, marking the end of the period when measles was considered eliminated in the US.

Donald Trump said Iran has agreed to suspend its nuclear program indefinitely, and will not receive any frozen funds from the US, according to Bloomberg News.

The president told the outlet in a phone interview on Friday that a deal to end the war, which the US and Israel began with Iran in late February, is mostly complete. He added that talks over a lasting agreement will “probably” be held this weekend.

Democrats on the House oversight committee have urged GOP leadership to reschedule Pam Bondi’s deposition, or they will move to hold the former attorney general in contempt of Congress.

In a letter to chair James Comer, ranking member Robert Garcia wrote that apart from “vague statements” there has been no “concrete progress toward a rescheduled date” from committee Republicans.

A reminder that in March, five GOP oversight lawmakers joined all Democrats to subpoena Bondi, then Donald Trump’s attorney general, to testify about the justice department’s handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files.

“Regardless of her departure from DOJ. [Bondi] possesses direct and extensive personal knowledge about DOJ’s management of the Epstein investigation,” Garcia wrote.

“Should Ms. Bondi fail to cooperate with the Committee’s investigation, the Committee must be prepared to take all possible steps to hold accountable those who obstruct our work,” Garcia added. “We urge you to schedule Ms. Bondi’s deposition immediately and provide transparency into your negotiations to secure a date.”

By a voice vote, the Senate passed a 10-day clean extension of section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (Fisa).

The provision was set to expire for Monday, amid pushback from Democrats and hardline Republicans over privacy concerns.

The stopgap measure, which the House passed in the pre-dawn hours on Friday, allows lawmakers more time to negotiate reforms on the bill.

The short-term extension of section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (Fisa), which passed in the House overnight, is now struggling to make headway in the Senate.

John Thune, the Senate majority leader, told reporters today that he doesn’t have the votes yet to pass the stopgap measure by unanimous consent. But he’s up against the clock, as Fisa provision expires on Monday, and many lawmakers have gone home for the weekend.

Donald Trump said on Friday that Nato has offered to help the US with the strait of Hormuz. Nato did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

“Now that the Hormuz Strait situation is over, I received a call from NATO asking if we would need some help. I TOLD THEM TO STAY AWAY, UNLESS THEY JUST WANT TO LOAD UP THEIR SHIPS WITH OIL. They were useless when needed, a Paper Tiger!” Trump posted on Truth Social.

This was the US president’s sixth post in two hours. During this time, Trump celebrated Iran’s announcement that the strait of Hormuz, declared the US naval blockade was still in place and proclaimed that the Israel was now prohibited by the US from bombing Lebanon.

The president has since gone on to post five more times in 18 minutes.

The supreme court issued one opinion today. However, it wasn’t in any of the closely watched cases I listed earlier.

It’s unclear when the court’s next decision day will be.

One box of decisions has been brought out at the supreme court today. This usually means we can expect between one and two opinions.

We’ll bring you the latest.