White House stops short of veto threat on 'clean' Patriot Act renewal'

The White House stopped short of issuing a veto threat against a Republican bill that would extend controversial surveillance provisions of the Patriot Act. But President Barack Obama is seeking changes that would end Section 215 of the Patriot Act, which the National Security Agency has used to carry out its bulk collection of Americans’ phone records. "The President has been quite definitive about the need to make those kinds of reforms a top priority,” White House press secretary Josh Earnest said. That could set up a high-stakes confrontation between the White House and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) over the nation’s spying capabilities with portions of the Patriot Act set to expire June 1. The White House will continue to review the bill, known as the USA Freedom Act, before offering its full support, but it is “gratified that some of those reforms are included” in it, Earnest said.