Tuesday, during an appearance on FBN’s “Mornings with Maria,” Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) reacted to speculation that Republicans could get the so-called SAVE America Act passed as a rider through the renewal of Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA).
The measure is set to lapse on June 12.
Paul told host Maria Bartiromo that he was skeptical of such a tactic, given the value of the “spying apparatus” to a lot of Republicans.
“Meanwhile, the president had previously urged lawmakers to advance the SAVE America Act, and either do it through a bipartisan housing bill or put it through FISA,” host Maria Bartiromo said. “Would that be an option here?”
Paul replied, “I’m all for putting it on a bill that must pass, but then you have to have the tenacity to move forward. See, the Democrats’ hatred of border control and hatred of ICE has been such that they did stick together, and we’re going to overcome it with a partisan vote through reconciliation. We would have to have that fortitude to stick through it and say we’re not willing to do it.”
“I think most Republicans, not most, a lot of Republicans love the spying apparatus,” he added. “They don’t care if Americans are caught up in it. They’re opposed to the warrant requirement and the reform. So, I don’t think they would use 702 as a vehicle or FISA reauthorization as a vehicle, because they love FISA and they love spying so much that they’re fine with Americans’ privacy being invaded.”
Follow Jeff Poor on X @jeff_poor
