WASHINGTON (AP) — A key surveillance tool that allows the United States to collect intelligence abroad appears certain to expire after the House on Thursday failed to temporarily extend the program, in a protest of President Donald Trump 's temporary pick to head the nation's intelligence agencies.

Trump has doubled down on his choice of Bill Pulte for acting director of national intelligence, even though the federal housing finance regulator has little experience for the job. Democrats say they will not support the renewal of Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, known as FISA, unless the Republican president withdraws Pulte's appointment and nominates a permanent replacement.

The House vote collapsed in bipartisan fashion, with some 20 Republicans and nearly all Democrats rejecting the temporary measure, 198-218. The Senate may try its own vote later Thursday, but hopes are dimming to prevent what could be rare lapse of spy powers. The law expires on Friday at midnight.

The impasse could soon result in limitations on what intelligence the U.S. government can collect abroad just as World Cup games begin in cities around the country and ahead of celebrations for the nation’s 250th anniversary. While the provision has expired briefly before, this would be the first lengthy lapse, at a time when the U.S. and Iran are engaged in missile strikes that are testing a fragile ceasefire in the war.

A lapse would not automatically deprive the government’s authority to conduct surveillance, but could open the door to court challenges of the program. That could lead to stale intelligence, lawmakers said, including the type of information included in the president’s daily briefing.

House Speaker Mike Johnson said he spoke with Trump within an hour of voting and was assured that Pulte would only serve temporarily and that president would “very soon” name a permanent nominee.

“We have done everything we possibly can,” said Johnson, R-La., who blamed Democrats for the breakdown and refusing to recall lawmakers back to Washington as they left for weeklong recess. “It is detestable, it is dangerous, it is going to jeopardize the security of this country.”

Democrats said Trump and the Republicans are the ones putting national security at risk by installing Pulte to the job. Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York said Pulte has “weaponized” his position in the federal government to go after Trump's critics.

Jeffries said it was a window into the White House's thinking that Trump “could put Bill Pulte forward and the country wouldn’t react adversely to it.” He said the president must ”come to the table and demonstrate leadership so we can reopen good faith negotiations about how best to extend surveillance authority.”

Trump has stuck with Pulte as the acting head and said wants Pulte to begin downsizing intelligence agencies.

GOP leaders lobby the White House, to no avail

Congressional Republicans have lobbied Trump all week to quickly nominate a permanent replacement. But he said he needs more time to do so.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said Republican leaders have “made our views known” to the White House, but on Thursday he blamed Democrats for the FISA impasse.

“Now this critical tool is set to go dark on Friday, and what the consequences of that will be, we cannot predict,” Thune said.

Trump has said that he won't let Democrats “extort us” and that he is interviewing five candidates for his pick to lead the agency permanently, after the resignation of Tulsi Gabbard.

The president wants Pulte to serve in a "sort of renovation role,” Johnson said, to help the Office of the Director of National Intelligence be “renovated and downsized.”

But Democrats on the House Intelligence Committee led by Rep. Jim Himes of Connecticut said in a letter to the president that Pulte is a “uniquely poor choice” to serve even in the acting capacity.

Both Republican and Democratic lawmakers skeptical of Pulte have pointed to his lack of intelligence experience and also his record at the Federal Housing Finance Agency. In the position, he has been linked with criminal referrals over allegations of mortgage fraud by public officials Trump sought to punish, including New York Attorney General Letitia James, a Democrat; Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif.; and Lisa Cook, a board member of the Federal Reserve.

“He has distinguished himself only as someone who will do or say anything to stay in your good graces,” Himes and the other lawmakers wrote, "qualities that are precisely the opposite of what our nation needs.”

FISA will lapse at midnight Friday

Section 702 of FISA allows agencies such as the CIA, National Security Agency and FBI to collect communications from foreign targets overseas without a warrant.

While members of both parties who cite privacy issues have long wanted to limit the authority, there was broad bipartisan support to renew it, especially after Republicans and Democrats recently worked out a compromise bill.

Virginia Sen. Mark Warner, the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, has worked with Republicans on the compromise legislation to renew the authority. But he called Pulte’s appointment to replace Gabbard “a live hand grenade” disrupting the process.

Warner said the only way he’ll support a short-term extension of the surveillance law is if the principal deputy director of national intelligence, Aaron Lukas, is the acting leader during the duration of that extension.

Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton, the chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, and Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, have warned the administration to prepare “for a potential significant gap in foreign intelligence collection.”

Trump doesn't back down on Pulte

After bipartisan pushback to Pulte’s temporary appointment, Trump said last week that he would not permanently nominate him to the position.

On Tuesday, though, Trump announced that Pulte would not only take over as acting director but that he would start earlier than expected, on June 19.

One of several possible replacements could be Pete Hoekstra, Trump’s ambassador to Canada and a former chairman of the House Intelligence Committee. The White House has reached out to Hoekstra about the job and conversations are ongoing, according to a person familiar with the outreach who requested anonymity to discuss the private conversations.

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Associated Press reporters Joey Cappelletti, Kevin Freking and Eric Tucker contributed to this report.