Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., said Wednesday that President Donald Trump supports a "simple, clean extension" of Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, Politico reports.
"President Trump has requested a simple, clean extension, and I support the commander-in-chief on this vital national-security decision," Cotton said, referring to Section 702, the surveillance program that allows U.S. intelligence agencies to collect communications of non-Americans abroad.
Section 702, first enacted in 2008 and periodically reauthorized by Congress, permits warrantless surveillance of foreign targets overseas to gather intelligence related to terrorism, espionage, and cyber threats.
The authority also allows incidental collection of Americans' communications if they are in contact with those foreign targets.
Trump also told House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., House Intelligence Committee Chair Rick Crawford, R-Ark., and Judiciary Committee Chair Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, that he wanted a clean extension, according to a congressional aide familiar with the discussion who spoke with Politico.
Cotton, who serves on the Senate Intelligence Committee, has consistently defended the authority as essential to protecting U.S. national security interests.
Trump's support for a "clean" extension suggests opposition to efforts by some lawmakers to attach reforms to the reauthorization.
A bipartisan group in both chambers has pushed for changes in response to past compliance issues and concerns over how the FBI conducts searches for Americans' information in the Section 702 database.
Civil liberties advocates have called for requiring warrants before querying the data for U.S. persons, arguing that added safeguards are needed to protect constitutional rights.
The fight over Section 702 has created unusual alliances on Capitol Hill, with some conservative Republicans joining progressive Democrats in seeking stricter guardrails, while defense hawks in both parties warn that new limits could weaken intelligence capabilities.
Intelligence officials have asserted that allowing the authority to lapse, even briefly, could interrupt investigations and reduce the government's ability to track foreign threats in real time.
With the current authorization set to expire, congressional leaders face mounting pressure to reach an agreement.
Solange Reyner ✉
Solange Reyner is a writer and editor for Newsmax. She has more than 15 years in the journalism industry reporting and covering news, sports and politics.
© 2026 Newsmax. All rights reserved.