The House Rules Committee inched a little closer to extending the life of the federal government surveillance tool known as Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), after approving a two-year extension late Thursday.

While the committee approved the measure, it now goes up for debate and amendment votes, which could be followed by a vote Friday.

CONGRESS CANNOT LET FISA SECTION 702 EXPIRE

The House Rules Committee met at 7:45 p.m. on Thursday to re-up the FISA authorization bill for the floor for the second time this week.

The bill, which was backed by Speaker Mike Johnson, was blocked by more than a dozen House GOP members.

Now that the House Rules Committee has advanced a rule to set up a debate on the reauthorization of FISA in an 8-4 vote, a vote on the rule will likely take place on Friday morning. If the rule passes, a vote on the final passage could take place later in the day.