Thanks to opposition from inside his own party, House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., was forced to delay a vote on President Donald Trump’s request to extend a major domestic spying law — but Democrats could ride to the rescue.
Johnson decided to delay a vote on the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act that had been scheduled for this week, Politico reported Friday. The move gives critics of the law more time to push for reforms, including a requirement that federal agents get a warrant before searching for information on Americans.
If the bill ultimately advances to the House floor, however, some top Democrats — including the ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee, Rep. Jim Himes of Connecticut — are already lobbying colleagues to vote for Trump’s request. Others, including members of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, are pushing back.
Generally speaking, I’m a Dems are better than Republicans no matter what voter, but it’s important that we give progressives primary wins. D & R are in total agreement when it comes to domestic spying and control, and in fact republicans at least pay lip service to civil liberties (much as Dems pay lip service to opposing big corporations but their actions show otherwise). Prior to Trump, it’s an issue I could find common cause with republican voters on — not the politicians selling the lies, but the voters eating them up.