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“I think she’s great, and I’d love to see that,” Trump said.
The proposal has quickly become one of the most aggressive attempts yet to link intelligence surveillance authority with election law reform, two issues that have separately generated intense partisan conflict.
The SAVE America Act at the Center of the Fight
At the heart of Luna’s push is the SAVE America Act, a sweeping election integrity bill that conservatives argue is essential to restoring trust in U.S. elections. The legislation includes several major provisions: requiring proof of citizenship to register to vote in federal elections, mandating photo identification at polling locations, prohibiting biological males from competing in women’s sports, and restricting expansive mail-in voting practices.
The House narrowly passed the bill in February by a 218–213 vote, but it has since stalled in the Senate, where Majority Leader John Thune has not brought it to the floor.
Luna has not held back in her criticism of the Senate leadership, directly naming Thune as a roadblock to reform.
“It’s John Thune blocking voter ID.”
She has also raised the stakes politically, warning that accountability will come at the ballot box.
“If we can’t deliver on that, then people like John Thune do not deserve to come back to Congress.”
Her position on FISA reform is equally firm. Luna has made it clear she will not support any renewal of Section 702 unless it is paired with the election integrity legislation.
“The only way that I will even consider voting for FISA is if the SAVE America Act is attached.”
Growing Concerns Over FISA Abuse
The controversy comes as renewed scrutiny is being placed on Section 702 of FISA, a surveillance authority originally designed to target foreign intelligence gathering but widely criticized for domestic misuse.
According to past disclosures and oversight findings, the FBI conducted more than 278,000 queries of Section 702 data in a two-year span that allegedly violated legal standards. These searches reportedly included individuals such as members of Congress, state judges, protesters, and private citizens with no clear foreign intelligence link.
Even after reforms were passed in 2024 to limit abuse, reports emerged that the FBI had quietly used a querying system that bypassed new safeguards, continuing concerns about oversight failures within the intelligence community.
Former President Trump has repeatedly voiced his own concerns about the program, writing on Truth Social that he was “a victim of the worst and most illegal abuse of FISA in our Nation’s History.”
Past Investigations Resurface Political Tensions
The debate has also revived scrutiny of the Crossfire Hurricane investigation into Trump’s 2016 campaign. That probe involved surveillance of campaign adviser Carter Page under FISA Title I authority.
A Justice Department Inspector General report later found that the surveillance applications included 17 significant inaccuracies and omissions. Additionally, an FBI attorney admitted to altering an email that was used in securing one of the surveillance warrants.
Senator Chuck Grassley has also disclosed that another Trump campaign adviser, Walid Phares, was placed under FISA surveillance, with evidence reportedly failing to support the original claims that justified the monitoring.
A Legislative Standoff With No Clear End
With tensions rising, Luna is effectively conditioning FISA renewal on the passage of the SAVE America Act, creating a legislative standoff that could stall intelligence authorities unless compromise is reached.
For Trump and his allies, the strategy represents a rare opportunity to force election integrity legislation into the center of must-pass national security policy. Critics, meanwhile, warn that tying the two issues together could further gridlock an already divided Congress.
As the Senate remains stalled under Thune’s leadership and surveillance powers near renewal deadlines, the coming weeks could determine whether Washington sees a breakthrough — or another high-profile political standoff with no resolution in sight.
