He voted to
spy on you.

Section 702 lets the government collect your communications without a warrant.

On April 29, 2026, the U.S. House voted 235–191 to renew Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act for three years. The program allows intelligence agencies to intercept the electronic communications of foreign nationals abroad — but it also sweeps up the calls, texts, and emails of Americans who communicate with those targets.

The bill did not include a warrant requirement. Privacy advocates in both parties demanded one. The ACLU, the Brennan Center for Justice, and over 130 civil rights organizations opposed reauthorization without reform. Only 22 House Republicans voted No. Troy Balderson was not among them.

This power has already been used against Americans.

This isn't hypothetical. Federal agencies have repeatedly abused Section 702 to surveil Americans with no connection to foreign intelligence:

• The FBI conducted 3.4 million warrantless searches of U.S. persons' data in 2021 alone
• The FBI searched 702 databases for information on a sitting U.S. senator
• Agents queried 19,000 donors to a single congressional campaign
• FBI employees ran 6,800 Social Security numbers through the surveillance system
• The program was used to surveil Black Lives Matter protesters
• Agents searched for communications of journalists and political activists
• FBI agents queried the database to check on romantic interests
• The FISA Court itself called the FBI's violations "persistent and widespread"

The Constitution already answered this question.

The Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution protects Americans from unreasonable searches. It requires the government to obtain a warrant — supported by probable cause and approved by a judge — before searching your private communications.

Section 702 creates an end-run around this protection. By targeting foreigners abroad, the government collects Americans' data as a byproduct, then searches it without ever going before a judge. Troy Balderson voted to preserve this loophole for three more years.

Even fellow Ohio Republican Warren Davidson pushed to add an amendment blocking the government from purchasing Americans' location tracking data from private brokers. The bill Balderson voted for doesn't address that either.