PCLOB Future Uncertain After Trump Dismissals
It’s unclear whether replacements will be named for the recently dismissed members of the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board, or if President Donald Trump’s decision to fire them will go unchecked, senators told us in interviews this week (see 2501280044).
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Democrats condemned the firings of three members of the independent oversight board, an organization that plays a key role in overseeing data flows between U.S. and EU companies (see 2501240009). Republicans largely sidestepped questions about dismissals. Now functioning with just one member, a Republican, the PCLOB said Monday that it anticipates handling a full workload after nomination and confirmation of new members.
“That’s the question,” Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., said Thursday concerning potential replacements. Trump “obviously thinks he can trample on any part of the government, no matter how clear the authority is ... it sets a really dangerous precedent. And it’s a message that the surveillance laws are in trouble.”
Asked what Congress can do, Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Mark Warner, D-Va., said the future is unclear. “It’s a blatantly partisan move that’s outrageous,” he said. “The intelligence community has always been broadly supported. What kind of message does this send when the world’s as dangerous as it is?”
Austrian privacy group Noyb noted this week that the EU relies on U.S. boards such as PCLOB to support findings on the adequacy of U.S. data protections and to allow free flow of data under the trans-Atlantic data privacy framework. The 9/11 Commission Act of 2007 established the PCLOB. Its chair serves full-time, and members are part-time. Beth Williams, the board’s remaining member, is scheduled to speak Feb. 11 at State of the Net.
“If the Senate doesn’t stand up and put a stop to it, then the checks and balances are going to be altered to our detriment and the country’s detriment,” said Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., a former House Intelligence Committee chairman. “There’s a pattern here, one of trying to avoid any accountability. We’re just in week two [of the Trump administration], right?”
Removal of the trio of Democrats was “improper,” said Sen. Angus King, an independent from Maine who caucuses with Democrats. King noted that members of Congress are preoccupied with more pressing issues like Trump’s spending freeze.
The Electronic Privacy Information Center requested the Senate Judiciary Committee and Senate Intelligence Committee hold up Trump’s intelligence nominations until PCLOB replacements are submitted. “No basis has been offered to justify these firings, and their legality is questionable,” said EPIC. The White House should “immediately nominate a Chair and full bipartisan slate of Board Members, subject to the advice and consent of the Senate and consultation with Congressional leadership as required by the law.”
A PCLOB spokesman said Thursday the board has nothing to add to its previous statement formally announcing the dismissals. The office for Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., didn't comment.
Sens. Rand Paul, R-Ky.; Mike Rounds, R-S.D.; Jerry Moran, R-Kan.; and James Lankford, R-Okla., said they’re still exploring the PCLOB issue. Paul, who has frequently sided with Wyden on government surveillance and privacy issues, said Wednesday: “We haven’t had a chance to look at it. I briefly saw the headline. We’ll look at it and may have a comment later today.”
“I better learn about it before I say anything,” said Rounds. “It doesn’t sound good from the way” it’s being discussed.
“I think oversight is important, but I don’t know what the next step is,” said Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas. “That’s pretty much it.”