Boebert breaks with Trump and GOP leadership on spy law: '4th Amendment is not for sale'

WASHINGTON — Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) appeared to break with House Republican leadership over the reauthorization of a sweeping federal surveillance law, arguing the government should not be able to buy Americans' private data without a warrant.

"I want the Fourth Amendment to not be for sale," Boebert told reporters on Thursday. "The federal government should not be able to purchase American citizens' data from private companies. This is a complete violation — it's a workaround from any kind of warrants and looking into Americans' lives."

Boebert's comments come as the House debates reauthorizing Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, which expires April 20 unless extended. The provision allows intelligence agencies to collect communications of foreign targets without a traditional warrant, but critics say it has been used to sweep up Americans' data, too.

The White House and House Speaker Mike Johnson have pushed for a clean 18-month extension with no reforms attached. The House Rules Committee approved a closed rule blocking a warrant amendment from even coming to a floor vote.

A key sticking point for Boebert and other reform-minded lawmakers is the so-called "data broker loophole," the ability of federal agencies to purchase Americans' location records and internet metadata from commercial data brokers, data that is normally protected under the Fourth Amendment.

More than 50 House Democrats joined the push to include Fourth Amendment protections in the reauthorization. The unusual left-right coalition puts Boebert in rare alignment with progressive lawmakers, including Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), who told reporters on Thursday FISA has been a "constitutional crisis since its drafting."

"We've had a huge amount of problems with warrantless surveillance wiretapping against American civilians," she said.

She accused Republicans of using national security as an "excuse to invade and violate the civil rights of everyday Americans."

President Donald Trump on Wednesday reiterated that he had reversed his stance on the surveillance tool and bill he long complained contributed to the "witch hunt" of him.