Just as Congress appeared on the verge of resolving its standoff over renewing a crucial foreign-surveillance authority, President Donald Trump abruptly reversed the play and altered the approach.
As the Senate failed to reach a renewal deal for Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act—the provision empowering the intelligence community to intercept the digital communications of non-Americans abroad—the window closed on June 12 for the first time in the law’s history.