— For more than 30 years, a little-known loophole in federal law has allowed the government to read Americans’ emails without a warrant, as long as the messages are more than 6 months old.
Democrats and Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives, who rarely agree on anything, have unified behind a bill to close that loophole. It sailed through the House unanimously earlier this month by voice vote.
Yet the bill’s chances of becoming law are bleak.
It faces daunting roadblocks in the Senate, where changes sought by Jeff Sessions, who until recently was a U.S. senator and is now attorney general, and Majority Whip John Cornyn of Texas have killed the bill in the past.