The White House just bought four more months for NSA reauthorization

All year, legislators have been bracing for a major fight over NSA surveillance. The 2015 bill that reauthorized the Patriot Act is set to expire on December 31st of this year. That would leave just a few weeks left to replace it and potentially add new restrictions to the NSA’s sprawling surveillance powers as part of the deal.
Now, it looks like legislators may have more time than they thought. According to a New York Times report today, the White House believes the Patriot Act’s s