After Trump tweets, US House passes bill to renew NSA's spying programme

The decision was prompted by morning tweets from President Donald Trump that initially questioned the spying tool

The US House of Representatives on Thursday passed a bill to renew the National Security Agency’s warrantless internet surveillance programme, overcoming objections from privacy advocates and confusion prompted by morning tweets from President Donald Trump that initially questioned the spying tool.

The legislation, which passed 256-164 and split party lines, is the culmination of a years-long debate in Congress on the proper scope of US intelligence collection - one fuelled by the 2013 disclosures of classified surveillance secrets by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden.

Senior Democrats in the House had urged cancellation of the vote after Trump appeared to cast doubt on