Senate passes short-term extension of surveillance law, following House

Washington — The Senate on Friday passed a short-term extension of Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, known as FISA, by unanimous consent, hours after the House passed the short-term extension of the law after 2 a.m. Friday. 

The extension through April 30 pushes back the expiration date of the controversial warrantless surveillance law by 10 days. It was set to expire Monday, April 20. 

Lawmakers hope the extra 10 days will buy them time to come up with a longer-term solution. The Trump administration is pushing for an 18-month reauthorization of the law without changes, but members of Congress are sharply divided on how to proceed. 

Critics of the law from both sides of the aisle worry it allows federal authorities to look at Americans’ communications without a warrant when those Americans are communicating with foreigners who are under surveillance. 

This is a developing story and will be updated.