On Thursday, FBI Director Christopher Wray cautioned Congress about the possibility of attacks on US soil as a result of international events.
“Our most immediate concern has been that individuals or small groups will draw twisted inspiration from events in the Middle East and carry out attacks here at home,” Wray told the House Appropriations Committee. “But now increasingly concerning is the potential for a coordinated attack here in the homeland, akin to the ISIS-K attack we saw at the Russia Concert Hall a couple weeks ago.”
Wray urged Congress to extend Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, which allows the government to collect communications from non-Americans overseas who use U.S.-based platforms without a warrant.
Former President Donald Trump’s allies defeated the initiative on Wednesday after Trump urged the GOP to “kill FISA” in a social media post.
Conservative House Republicans reject reauthorizing the legislation without an amendment requiring the spy community to acquire a warrant to access Americans’ data.
The ACLU and other civil rights groups have also asked for similar revisions, claiming that Section 702 authorizes the government to conduct “mass, warrantless surveillance of Americans’ and foreigners’ phone calls, text messages, emails, and other electronic communications.”
Congress passed a bill on Wednesday, but it did not contain the warrant amendment. Wray spoke on Thursday on the FBI’s budget, which is set to be reduced by $500 million. House Republicans have reduced the budgets of the FBI and other federal law enforcement agencies. Wray wants Congress to finance the agency until 2025.