U.S. Representative Andy Ogles (R-TN-05) joined 18 other Republicans in voting against reauthorizing the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) on Wednesday. He told The Tennessee Star his vote would protect Tennesseans from “unreasonable searches and seizures by the federal government.”
Ogles explained his decision to break with the majority of Republicans and vote against reauthorizing FISA came after House leadership “chose to keep the doors closed and did not allow an open amendment process.” He noted he had six amendments that were all ignored by House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA-04).
“FISA matters to Tennessee for the same reason it should matter to every American citizen: the Fourth Amendment of the United States Constitution ensures protections against unreasonable searches and seizures by the federal government,” Ogles told The Star.
Former special counsel John Durham and a U.S. court have separately found that the Federal Bureau of Investigation acted improperly when making requests to the FISA Court, which approves or declines requests by intelligence agencies to spy on foreign citizens.
The congressman added, “My constituents should know that protecting their privacy and fighting to keep Big Brother out of their business is a priority for me.”
His decision to vote against reauthorizing FISA also comes after former President Donald Trump called on House Republicans to block the bill.
“KILL FISA,” wrote Trump in a post to his social media platform, Truth Social. The former president wrote FISA was illegally used against him, including his campaign, referencing the improper FBI applications for surveillance of former Trump campaign aide Carter Page.
Metro Councilwoman Courtney Johnston is currently challenging Ogles as he seeks reelection.
Johnston did not respond to The Star when asked how she would have voted in Ogles’ position but previously aligned herself with the former president when announcing her candidacy.
Tom Guarente, who filed paperwork to challenge Ogles but has yet to formally announce a campaign, likewise did not respond to a request for comment by The Star.
Ogles referenced the surveillance of Trump’s campaign in posts to the social media platform X ahead of the vote.
“It is important to remember that FISA is the tool that the FBI used to spy on President Trump’s campaign advisor, Carter Page, to conduct opposition research for the Hillary Clinton Campaign, so the deep state doesn’t want Trump to have a say in restricting abuses of the program,” wrote Ogles.
2/ It is important to remember that FISA is the tool that the FBI used to spy on President Trump's campaign advisor, Carter Page, to conduct opposition research for the Hillary Clinton Campaign, so the deep state doesn't want Trump to have a say in restricting abuses of the…
— Rep. Andy Ogles (@RepOgles) April 10, 2024
He added, “No one should be surprised” if the effort to reauthorize FISA “fails.”
Representative Tim Burchett (R-TN-02) also voted to kill FISA, writing to X that the government “should NOT be spying on Americans, especially without a search warrant.”
Congress has until April 19 to reauthorize FISA before it expires.
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Tom Pappert is the lead reporter for The Tennessee Star, and also reports for The Georgia Star News, The Virginia Star, and the Arizona Sun Times. Follow Tom on X/Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
