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Jayapal reignites fight against federal surveillance law
Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal condemned the reauthorization of a provision allowing interception of electronic communications of non-U.S. persons.
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Jeffin T. Kaleekal - Fri, 20, Mar 2026
- 01:51 EDT
- 13
Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal / Wikimedia commons
Rep. Pramila Jayapal has criticized the Trump administration for its efforts to get Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) reauthorized, labeling the move as domestic surveillance.
Section 702 authorizes the federal government to intercept electronic communications of non-U.S. persons who are located outside the United States.
Jayapal, a longtime voice against Section 702 of FISA, alleged that even though the section targets foreign nationals, communications of Americans are often swept up when monitoring non-U.S. persons. Additionally, she noted that this data is then kept by intelligence agencies and can later be accessed without a warrant.
In 2023, during the Biden era, Jayapal joined Representatives Warren Davidson, Zoe Lofgren and Andy Biggs and wrote to Speaker Mike Johnson and other top Democrats, voicing their opposition to the section.
ALSO READ: Jayapal slams Deporting Fraudsters Act as assault on due process
Highlighting her core affinity to the issue, on March 19, she said, “I have been working on essential reforms to FISA across administrations, and I have not wavered — whether it is a Democratic or Republican president. This has always been a bipartisan issue for good reason.”
Jayapal continued, “Americans across political parties care deeply about privacy and not being surveilled. Congress has a duty to protect those fundamental constitutional liberties. Any attempt to push forward a ‘clean’ reauthorization of Section 702 will put our private, sensitive data at risk.”
The Democrat also accused the Trump administration of being “particularly brazen” in its use of domestic surveillance to suppress constitutional rights and dissent.
Substantiating her argument, she alleged that the administration blacklisted AI company Anthropic for refusing to share domestic mass surveillance technology and also alleged that the federal government surveilled her and other Congress members who reviewed the Epstein files.
U.S. Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard had previously spoken against Section 702 of FISA and even attempted to repeal it. However, since assuming her intelligence office, Gabbard has changed her views on the issue.
Jayapal’s statement accused the Trump administration of running “roughshod over our Constitution.”
She continued, “We cannot continue to give them a further opening to sacrifice our civil liberties in the name of national security. We cannot give Stephen Miller (U.S. homeland security adviser) a blank check to conduct domestic surveillance in violation of the Fourth Amendment.”
Jayapal has been a champion of congressional efforts to reform FISA. She has led both bipartisan legislation and letters to enact reforms, as well as multiple bipartisan calls to leadership to not tie FISA reauthorization to “must-pass” legislation and allow members a vote on standalone legislation.
Jayapal also co-led the Fourth Amendment Is Not For Sale Act to stop the federal government from circumventing Americans’ Fourth Amendment right to privacy by closing loopholes that allow the government to purchase Americans’ data from big tech companies without a search warrant.
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