White House aide says Trump cannot extend expired FISA foreign-surveillance authority by executive action alone

The White House is facing a legal and operational constraint on foreign intelligence surveillance after Congress allowed a key Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act authority to expire on Friday, according to a Washington Times report. The same report says a White House aide cautioned that President Donald Trump cannot restore the authority unilaterally through executive action, even if the administration seeks to move quickly.

Under the framework discussed in the report, the lapse affects the government’s ability to conduct certain intelligence surveillance targeting foreign persons. While the White House can propose policy and seek implementation steps within existing law, the aide’s position, as characterized by the report, is that an expired statutory authorization cannot be revived by the president on his own authority.

The report frames the dispute around the separation of powers between Congress and the executive branch. Congress establishes and renews surveillance authorities in statute, while the executive branch carries out national security collection subject to those legal limits and oversight requirements. Once Congress lets the statutory authority lapse, the executive branch’s ability to continue activity covered by that authority becomes constrained.

The White House aide’s comments also suggest limits on how fast the administration can respond administratively. Even if the White House wants to preserve continuity for intelligence operations, the report indicates that any restoration would require renewed statutory authority or other legally grounded pathways that remain available under current law, rather than an executive order that simply “extends” expired FISA power.

Friday’s expiration date creates immediate timing pressure for agencies that depend on the authority to sustain collection. The report indicates the administration’s ability to proceed with surveillance “as before” is directly tied to whether Congress acts to reinstate the authorization, rather than to the president’s desire to do so through unilateral action.

The coming steps, as implied by the report’s description of the aide’s view, rest with Congress. If lawmakers do not act to renew the relevant FISA authorization, the government may have to shift to alternative authorities that are still active, adjust collection practices, or pause certain activities that depend specifically on the expired statutory power.