Jeffries warns Democrats might not support FISA reauthorization if Patel remains atop FBI

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) is warning that House Democrats might not back an extension of the government’s warrantless spy powers as long as FBI Director Kash Patel remains atop the agency.

Jeffries has long portrayed Patel as a partisan conspiracy theorist who’s unfit to be the nation’s top cop. On Thursday, he escalated those criticisms by suggesting Democrats might be ready to leverage their support for an extension of Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) to secure Patel’s removal. 

“We’re going to continue to make clear that Kash Patel’s continued presence as the FBI director is going to make bipartisan common ground on the FISA 702 question extremely difficult,” Jeffries told reporters in the Capitol. 

The remarks create what is potentially another barrier in the effort to extend FISA’s spying powers, which expire on April 30. Already, many Democrats — joined by some Republicans — are vowing to oppose the legislation unless it’s amended to include stronger privacy protections for U.S. citizens.

Jeffries said he spoke with Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) on Wednesday morning about “the need to find common ground there if we’re going to........

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