House Speaker Nancy Pelosi suffered a stunning defeat in the House of Representatives, and was forced to withdraw a bill extending surveillance authorities to the FBI after President Donald Trump rallied bipartisan support against the bill.
After Trump threatened a veto, Republican leaders and some Democrats said they would oppose the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA).
Pelosi and establishment Democratic leaders abruptly postponed a vote on the bill Wednesday, hours after saying there would be a vote that evening.
Pelosi and her allies worked for weeks to rally support for the bill before being stunned Wednesday. She spent Wednesday night trying to salvage support before giving up and sending lawmakers home at 9:30 p.m.
Trump and his allies have long complained that FISA court abuses allowed former President Barack Obama’s administration to illegally spy on his 2016 presidential campaign.
“If the FISA Bill is passed tonight on the House floor, I will quickly VETO it,” Trump tweeted. “Our Country has just suffered through the greatest political crime in its history. The massive abuse of FISA was a big part of it!”
Trump had suggested Tuesday he would oppose the measure, prompting Republicans to follow Trump’s lead and say Wednesday they would vote against it.
The leaders of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, which has about 70 Democratic House members, also said they’d oppose the legislation, saying it lacked curbs on online surveillance without warrants.
Combined with strong GOP opposition, the Democrats’ defiance of Pelosi suggested there was enough dissent to sink the bill. It will force Democratic leaders to try to negotiate with the Republican-led Senate on a final compromise.
The legislation first passed the House in March — but that consensus crumbled Wednesday after Trump urged lawmakers to reject the extension.
House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., said it was time to take a “pause” on the legislation.
Democratic leaders were left stunned by the sudden GOP revolt.
“Your flailing around to find a rationalization for your change of vote is sad,” House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., told Republicans in a heated floor speech.
“The only thing that has changed,” Hoyer said, “is that Donald Trump has said vote no.”
With Republicans opposed, Pelosi failed to keep her caucus together to pass it. She pleaded with her colleagues throughout the night to support the legislation before ultimately postponing the bill.
Trump, still seething over the Russia investigation, implored all House Republicans in a Tuesday tweet to vote no “until such time as our Country is able to determine how and why the greatest political, criminal, and subversive scandal in USA history took place!”
McCarthy said lawmakers passed the legislation with bipartisan majorities before and should try again to negotiate a compromise.
“If the Democrats bring this bill up they’re just playing politics,” McCarthy said. “And this is not something to play politics with.”
The statements underscored the tortuous process Congress has faced in renewing the surveillance powers since an inspector general report that documented serious errors, lies, and misinformation the FBI used during the Russia investigation.
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The Associated Press contributed to this article