Spy powers battle collides with World Cup, America 250 celebrations

▪ Foreign surveillance power to expire

▪ Trump takes a sharp turn on Iran

▪ Musk to become first trillionaire

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The likely expiration of a key part of America’s foreign surveillance arsenal is coming just as the World Cup and America 250 celebrations get underway, raising security concerns that experts say will only get more severe as the fight in Congress drags on.

House members left town Thursday after the chamber failed to pass a three-week extension of Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), which allows the federal government to conduct surveillance on foreigners abroad without obtaining a warrant. A separate effort to extend the provision in the Senate also failed Thursday.

President Trump floated the possibility of using an executive order to extend the spy powers, but without further action, Section 702 will expire tonight.

National security experts told Morning Report the timing, with the U.S. cohosting the World Cup amid a war with Iran and other simmering conflicts around the world, could not be worse.

“You look out at the world picture and it’s a pretty dangerous place, and add to that heightened concerns over World Cup, other celebrations, etc.,” said Glenn Gerstell, a former general counsel for the National Security Agency. “It’s not that those two alone are so significant, but I just say the whole picture generally looks fairly dangerous, and it’s exactly when we want to have 702 in place.”

The global soccer tournament will bring together fans from 48 countries from around the world with games taking place over five weeks in 11 U.S. cities and five in Mexico and Canada. Trump himself pointed to the World Cup in making his case for Congress to keep Section 702 active.

“FISA 702 is very important to our Military, and keeping the American People safe, especially during the World Cup and America250 Celebrations,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social on Wednesday.

FBI Director Kash Patel said Wednesday that the agency is making terrorist attack prevention during the World Cup its top priority, calling it “probably the biggest lift in FBI history.”

The resistance in Congress to renewing Section 702 has two elements. Privacy advocates in both parties have long expressed concerns about Americans’ communications getting swept up in data collection.

But most Democrats were prepared to pass a FISA compromise bill until Trump selected Bill Pulte, the controversial head of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, as acting director of national intelligence.

Trump on Thursday announced his plan to nominate Jay Clayton, a former Securities and Exchange Commission chair, for the permanent role to replace Tulsi Gabbard.

But key Democrats say that’s still not enough, as Pulte will remain in the role until Clayton is confirmed. The House is out of session next week, likely ensuring the FISA provision won’t be restored at least until later this month.

Jamil N. Jaffer, the founder and executive director of the National Security Institute at George Mason University, said all actors — both parties in Congress and the administration — bear responsibility for allowing the expiration, particularly if any attacks take place.

“Of course terrorists and other threat actors are going to be focused on targeting America at a time when we’re hosting one of the world’s largest, most watched sporting events ever,” he said.

A spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said the safety of the American people and the millions of visitors attending the events is its “highest priority.”

“DHS will continue leveraging every available authority, technology, and partnership to protect the Homeland while ensuring the World Cup remains safe, secure, and successful for everyone involved,” they said.

The expiration of Section 702 doesn’t leave the government completely powerless in conducting foreign surveillance operations.

Sophie McDowall, a research associate at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies’ Center on Cyber and Technology Innovation, noted that any existing directives that have already been issued to gather intelligence can continue apace. She said many directives have likely already been issued in preparation for the World Cup.

But if a new threat were to arise once these events have already begun and after the provision’s expiration, that could create an issue, she said.

“They’re not going to be left with nothing … but it would definitely be better to have it [authorized] sooner rather than later,” McDowall said.

▪ The Hill: Trump mulls executive order on spy powers.

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