President Trump is using leverage over national security surveillance legislation to advance his voting reform agenda. According to Axios, Trump said he won't support renewal of Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act unless Congress attaches his SAVE America Act—a voting bill requiring citizenship proof and voter ID—to it. Section 702 allows the government to surveil foreign targets abroad, but it sweeps up Americans' communications in the process, and it's been contentious among privacy advocates and security hawks alike. The bill lapsed for the first time since 2008, and Trump is using its renewal as a bargaining chip to push voting legislation that Senate Republicans say doesn't have the votes to pass.

Listen to this story

Hear this and more stories in a personalized audio briefing.

Open The Chonkerton