U.S. Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) renewed his call for stronger Fourth Amendment protections on Monday, April 20, 2026, declaring that the government must obtain a judicial warrant before reading Americans’ emails or conducting other forms of domestic surveillance.
“If the government wants to read your emails, it should have to convince a judge first. That’s what the Fourth Amendment requires. That’s what my Fourth Amendment Restoration and Protection Act restores. No warrant, no search,” Paul posted on X.
What the Fourth Amendment Restoration and Protection Act Would Do
Paul’s legislation, originally introduced as S. 3372 in the 118th Congress and re-emphasized in the current session, seeks to close loopholes that allow warrantless government surveillance of U.S. citizens.
Key provisions of the bill include:
- Requiring the government to obtain a warrant from a regular Article III federal court (not the secretive Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court) before surveilling or searching the communications or data of American citizens.
- Prohibiting the use of Section 702 of FISA and Executive Order 12333 to conduct “backdoor” queries or searches on Americans’ emails, phone records, and other private communications.
- Preserving the government’s ability to surveil foreign terrorists and adversaries while restoring constitutional protections for U.S. persons.
The bill explicitly aims to end what Paul and privacy advocates call unconstitutional warrantless spying on Americans, even when the government claims the surveillance is targeted at foreigners.
Background and Ongoing Push
The Fourth Amendment Restoration and Protection Act directly addresses long-standing concerns about abuses of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), including incidental collection and warrantless querying of Americans’ data. Paul has repeatedly argued that these practices violate the spirit and letter of the Fourth Amendment, which protects against unreasonable searches and seizures.
In his original press release when introducing the bill, Paul stated: “While national security requires the ability to gather intelligence on foreign threats, using those authorities to conduct warrantless spying on Americans is an impermissible violation of the rights guaranteed to us by the Fourth Amendment.”
The senator’s latest post comes amid continued national debate over FISA reauthorization and government surveillance powers. Paul has positioned the legislation as a critical restoration of constitutional privacy rights in the digital age.
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