Johnson blasts Democrats after failed FISA vote

Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) ripped Democrats on Thursday after nearly all of them banded together with 19 Republicans to block a short-term reauthorization of a key surveillance power.

"The Democrats, 199 of them, voted against a clean three-week extension for political purposes, and when the bill went down, they applauded," he said. "I pray that we don't have a serious calamity on our shores over the few weeks."

The speaker called Democrats' vote against the bill "shameful" and "very dangerous."

"They are willing to jeopardize the safety and the security of the American people to make a cheap political point," he said.

Democrats voted against the reauthorization of Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) largely because of President Trump's appointment of Bill Pulte as acting director of national intelligence.

Mr. Pulte, the head of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, has no experience in national security or intelligence matters and is best known for using his position atop the mortgage regulatory agency to target the president's political opponents.

Speaker Johnson stood by the president's decision, emphasizing that it was his prerogative to fill the role and that it would be only a short-term appointment.

"The responsibility, the questions are for the Democrats in the House and Senate — why they're willing to jeopardize the lives of millions of Americans to make a political point," he said. "Because they have a disagreement about someone that the president has appointed for a short-term position? It is absurd. There is no way to defend it."

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