The White House was eager for Congress to extend Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, and a group of lawmakers had already crafted a bipartisan solution that appeared likely to advance ahead of last week’s deadline. There was no guarantee that the proposal would pass, but leaders from both parties seemed to agree the bill was on track.
All Donald Trump had to do was nothing. If the president simply focused his energies on his ballroom and his golf game, FISA would’ve remained intact, just as his administration wanted.
Nothing, however, proved too difficult for the Republican incumbent. MS NOW’s Mychael Schnell reported on the latest example of the president exasperating his ostensible GOP allies on Capitol Hill:
Earlier this month, Trump’s decision to install Bill Pulte as acting director of national intelligence triggered bipartisan backlash and helped sink an extension of Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, producing the first expiration in the authority’s nearly 18-year history.
The implications of policymakers missing last week’s deadline are admittedly complicated. Though there have been overwrought warnings about the United States “going dark” on terror plots and related threats, The New York Times reported, “A legal quirk would most likely allow the program authorized by the law — Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, or FISA — to continue operating well into next year, although technology companies that cooperate could resist doing so, potentially leading to some gaps in intelligence collection.”
While that debate advances, it’s worth appreciating the familiarity of the circumstances.
On the economy, all Trump had to do was nothing: Early last year, when Trump returned to power, he inherited an economy firing on all cylinders, which was the envy of the world. If the new president had simply done nothing, the economy likely would have continued to hum.
Trump instead launched a misguided tariffs agenda, which led to the weakest U.S. economic growth in nine years and the weakest U.S. job growth in 16 years (excluding the 2020 pandemic).
On health care, all Trump had to do was leave the status quo in place: Biden-era policies made healthcare coverage through the Affordable Care Act even more affordable, lowering the uninsured rate and creating a stronger and more stable market.
The president instead allowed insurance subsidies to lapse, worsening the affordability crisis for millions of Americans and, predictably, undermining enrollment.