House FISA bill in jeopardy

 A bill to reauthorize three expired surveillance programs is in jeopardy, with President Trump urging Republicans to oppose it and progressives raising concerns about a key amendment.

House Democratic leaders say they still intend to vote on the measure this week, but it’s suddenly unclear if it can muster the 218 votes needed to clear the chamber — despite an earlier version of the bill winning 278 votes in March.

Showdown incoming: Despite the limbo status, Democratic leadership is signaling they will move forward, setting up a showdown on the House floor over the fate of the bill.

An update from Democratic leadership sent shortly before noon said that “votes are expected” related to the legislation on Wednesday. Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) told reporters early Wednesday afternoon that “we will act upon it today one way or another.”

Trump, in a Tuesday night tweet, had urged Republicans to vote against the measure, linking it to the surveillance he says was done against his campaign by the Obama administration in 2016 and early 2017 that led to the resignation of his first national security adviser, Michael Flynn.

Reversal: GOP leaders who had supported the legislation immediately reversed their positions, with House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) calling on Democratic leaders to pull the bill. House Republican Whip Steve Scalise (La.) said he would whip against the measure.

“We just formally announced a whip against it, because No. 1, it’s not going to become law. No. 2, there are still so many questions that need to be answered about real abuses that happened in the FISA system,” Scalise said, referring to the court established by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA).

Scalise and Trump spoke on Wednesday, according to a source familiar with their talks, “and agreed that this bill should not move forward in the House in its current form.”

Rep. Liz Cheney (Wyo.), the No. 3 Republican in the House, also expressed opposition to the measure on Wednesday, though she faulted amendments that she said would weaken its ability to keep the nation safe.

It’s unlikely Democrats could get the bill through the House without GOP support. The initial bill that passed the House in March garnered just 152 votes from Democrats.

Progressives and libertarian-minded Republicans have warned for years that they do not believe the FISA court provides enough legal protections for those targeted for surveillance. As a result, a number of House Democrats on the left were already likely to vote against the measure.