The failed Amash amendment and the shifting politics of national security

The House narrowly voted down a measure that would have curbed the NSA's phone-data gathering. The spooks may not be so lucky next time.

A protester demonstrates on July 20 against the NSA outside Germany's "Dagger Complex," which is used by the U.S. Army intelligence services.
(Image credit: REUTERS/ Kai Pfaffenbach)

On Wednesday night, we were reminded once again that national security politics makes for really strange bedfellows. After a lively debate, the House narrowly defeated an amendment to a defense spending bill that would have curbed the National Security Agency's authority to indiscriminately collect Americans' telephone metadata.

The amendment, sponsored by Reps. Justin Amash (R-Mich.) and John Conyers (D-Mich.), split the House along unusual ideological lines. "The strongest backers of the measure were an oil-and-water mix of deeply conservative Tea Party Republicans and some of the chamber's most liberal Democrats," say Ken Dilanian and Michael A. Memoli in the Los Angeles Times.

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Peter Weber, The Week US

Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.