Trump’s positions on FISA and coronavirus responses stoking anxiety on Capitol Hill

Uncertainty over President Donald Trump’s position on two major bills — to deal with the damaging coronavirus fallout and an overhaul of federal surveillance laws — has once again complicated deliberations on Capitol Hill during a critical moment in his presidency.

GOP lawmakers are eager to hear whether Trump will back a sweeping coronavirus relief bill that has been the product of intense negotiations between House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin.

While a source familiar with his thinking says Trump is expected to back the bill, nothing is final until Trump tweets it or states his position, which he may do at a Friday news conference. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy met at the White House with Trump on Friday to discuss the plan.

“Significantly,” one top House Republican said when asked how much it would help to hear Trump’s position as Republicans decide how to vote.

And Trump is now openly floating a veto of a bill to overhaul the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, or FISA — even though that bill already passed the House after bipartisan talks led by Trump’s own attorney general, Bill Barr, and closest allies like Rep. Jim Jordan, an Ohio Republican. Key surveillance authorities are set to expire Sunday, and the Senate still needs to vote next week.

What Republican lawmakers are fearful of: Voting one way now, only to see Trump take the opposite position later — and exposing them to attacks from the base or primary foes in the future.

It’s a situation that happened before — in December 2018, after the White House sent signs that Trump was on board with a bill to keep the government open, Senate Republicans moved ahead, thinking they had him on their side. But then he flipped, rallying House GOP leaders to support his position — and the longest government shutdown in history then ensued.

“Listen — we want to be there, where we can to support the President, and the President has negotiated the deal so we would like to think that what the President and speaker did would be positive for the American economy and the American people,” said Rep. Drew Ferguson of Georgia, the chief deputy whip.

Tennessee Republican Rep. Tim Burchett said he’s not worried about Trump’s position but said there are concerns in the GOP conference about the plan from Pelosi and Mnuchin.

“From what I know it’s pretty bloated and people are concerned,” Burchett said.

The bill — which would provide relief for workers displaced by the coronavirus, provide food assistance and bolster unemployment insurance benefits — will pass the House no matter what position Trump takes. But if he backs it, it would ensure a bipartisan vote and bolster its chances of passing the GOP-led Senate next week.

“He needs to make a decision on something this important,” said Rep. Zoe Lofgren, a California Democrat.

On Thursday, Trump also suggested in a tweet he may veto the FISA legislation — despite the bipartisan vote in the House. While the law’s authorities expire Sunday, the Senate is set to pass the bill next week. But if Trump vetoes the plan, the law’s provisions could expire for an indefinite amount of time.

Sen. John Cornyn, a Texas Republican, said there is “a lot of noise” regarding the bill but said he hopes Trump “follows the advice” of Barr and signs it.