Senate rejects FISA amendment to bar warrantless surveillance of web browser history

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The Senate on Wednesday narrowly rejected an amendment to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) which would have prohibited law enforcement officials from monitoring people's web browsing or internet search history without obtaining a warrant first.

The Senate voted 59-37 in favor of the amendment, which would have tacked on measures to a FISA reform bill that already passed in the House with substantial bipartisan support, but 60 senators needed to approve it for the amendment to pass.

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The amendment, which came from Sens. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and Steve Daines, R-Mont., is one of several being considered by the Senate as possible add-ons to the House bill.

"We need to get the government out of our phones & out of our lives," Daines tweeted before the vote. "They shouldn't have access to Americans' extremely personal browser data & internet search history w/o a warrant."

The House bill, which passed by a 278-136 vote, brought together the staunchest President Trump supporters like Reps. Devin Nunes, R-Calif., and Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, and some of his fiercest critics like Reps. Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., and Adam Schiff, D-Calif., who wanted improvements to protect Americans' privacy and safeguard against surveillance abuses.

Senators including Rand Paul, R-Ky., and Mike Lee, R-Utah, have voiced opposition to the House bill and submitted amendments of their own.

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FISA reform has been a hot topic since a report from the Justice Department Inspector General revealed significant inaccuracies and omissions by the FBI in FISA warrant applications that led to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court authorizing surveillance of Trump campaign adviser Carter Page in 2016.

A subsequent report showed that the FBI's violations of FISA-related rules went beyond the Russia investigation.

Fox News' Chad Pergram contributed to this report.