Nomination of Lieutenant General Timothy Haugh

Floor Speech

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Mr. WYDEN. Madam President, I must regretfully object to the promotion of Lt. Gen. Timothy Haugh to the grade of general and, consequently, to be the Director of the National Security Agency--NSA-- and Commander of U.S. Cyber Command.

In January of 2021, I made public an unclassified memo I received from the Defense Intelligence Agency revealing that it was purchasing, retaining, and using location data revealing the movements of Americans. After receiving that information, I pressed the Department of Defense to identify which other Agencies within the Department are buying Americans' personal data, including location data and web browsing records.

The Department provided me with that information in March of 2021, but marked the information ``Controlled Unclassified Information''-- CUI--a made-up designation with no basis in law. The administration is abusing the C-U-I designation to keep this unclassified information from the American public. In May of 2021, I wrote to Secretary of Defense Austin to urge him to remove the restrictions on that information, so that the American people can be told which Agencies are buying their information without court oversight and so that Congress can conduct appropriate oversight. In August of 2021, I received a response letter from the Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence and Security, declining to clear the information for public release.

In connection with Lieutenant General Haugh's pending promotion to lead the NSA, I narrowed my request. I asked that the American people simply be provided yes or no answers as to whether the NSA is buying their location data and web browsing records. Unfortunately, intelligence officials have been unwilling to release even that basic information.

The American people have a right to know whether the NSA is conducting warrantless domestic surveillance of Americans in a manner that circumvents the Fourth Amendment to the Constitution. Particularly as Congress is currently debating extending section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, Congress must be able to have an informed public debate about the scope of the NSA's warrantless surveillance of Americans.

Until the NSA publicly releases the information described above, I must object to the Senate proceeding with the Haugh nomination.

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