Skip to main content
Thursday, October 29, 2026Oct 29
Subscribe
All Sections
Search
More

This story is free to read.

Before Trump’s presidency, US privacy board in disarray

FILE - In this June 6, 2013 file photo, the sign outside the National Security Administration (NSA) campus in Fort Meade, Md. A federal oversight board that concluded the NSA’s once-secret phone records surveillance program was unconstitutional is in disarray just weeks before President-elect Donald Trump takes office. The five-member Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board will have only two remaining members as of Jan. 7, and zero Democrats, even though it’s required under federal law to operate as an independent, bipartisan agency. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File)
FILE - In this June 6, 2013 file photo, the sign outside the National Security Administration (NSA) campus in Fort Meade, Md. A federal oversight board that concluded the NSA’s once-secret phone records surveillance program was unconstitutional is in disarray just weeks before President-elect Donald Trump takes office. The five-member Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board will have only two remaining members as of Jan. 7, and zero Democrats, even though it’s required under federal law to operate as an independent, bipartisan agency. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File) FILE - In this June 6, 2013 file photo, the sign outside the National Security Administration (NSA) campus in Fort Meade, Md. A federal oversight board that concluded the NSA’s once-secret phone records surveillance program was unconstitutional is in disarray just weeks before President-elect Donald Trump takes office. The five-member Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board will have only two remaining members as of Jan. 7, and zero Democrats, even though it’s required under federal law to operate as an independent, bipartisan agency. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File)

By Associated Press 4 min read

WASHINGTON (AP) – A federal board responsible for protecting Americans against abuses by spy agencies is in disarray just weeks before President-elect Donald Trump takes office.

The five-member Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board will have only two remaining members as of Jan. 7 – and zero Democrats even though it is required to operate as an independent, bipartisan agency. The vacancies mean it will lack the minimum three members required to conduct business and can work only on ongoing projects. Trump would have to nominate new members, who would have to be confirmed by the Senate.

The board was revitalized after former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden’s disclosures on the scope of U.S. spying in 2013. It notably concluded that the NSA’s phone surveillance program was unconstitutional.

Since then, it has been crucial in ensuring members of Congress and the public have a window into the highly secretive and classified world of intelligence agencies. But it’s unclear if Trump will support robust intelligence oversight. During his campaign, Trump appeared to support strengthened intelligence overall and surveillance of mosques, but he’s more recently expressed distrust of intelligence agencies. The Trump transition team didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

Jim Dempsey, a Democrat, will leave the board Jan. 3 because for months the Senate has not confirmed his re-nomination by President Barack Obama. And former U.S. Judge Patricia Wald, the only other Democrat, informed the White House this month that she intends to retire effective Jan. 7. The board also will lose its executive director, Sharon Bradford Franklin, who plans to step down before Trump’s presidency, according to an individual with knowledge of the board’s operations who wasn’t authorized to speak.