Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell Addison (Mitch) Mitchell McConnellObama calls on Senate not to fill Ginsburg's vacancy until after election Planned Parenthood: 'The fate of our rights' depends on Ginsburg replacement Progressive group to spend M in ad campaign on Supreme Court vacancy MORE (R-Ky.) and a cadre of top Republican senators threw their support behind a House-passed bill that would reauthorize soon-to-expire intelligence programs and reform the surveillance court.

The joint statement comes as Sens. Rand Paul Randal (Rand) Howard PaulSecond GOP senator to quarantine after exposure to coronavirus GOP senator to quarantine after coronavirus exposure The Hill's Morning Report - Sponsored by National Industries for the Blind - Trump seeks to flip 'Rage' narrative; Dems block COVID-19 bill MORE (R-Ky.) and Mike Lee Michael (Mike) Shumway LeeMcConnell shores up GOP support for coronavirus package McConnell tries to unify GOP Davis: The Hall of Shame for GOP senators who remain silent on Donald Trump MORE (R-Utah) are racing to try to get President Trump Donald John TrumpObama calls on Senate not to fill Ginsburg's vacancy until after election Planned Parenthood: 'The fate of our rights' depends on Ginsburg replacement Progressive group to spend M in ad campaign on Supreme Court vacancy MORE to agree to veto the legislation, effectively killing the agreement.

In addition to McConnell, Sen. John Thune John Randolph ThuneThe Hill's 12:30 Report - Presented by Facebook - Don't expect a government check anytime soon The Hill's Morning Report - Sponsored by The Air Line Pilots Association - Trump contradicts CDC director on vaccine, masks Senate GOP eyes early exit MORE (R-S.D.), the majority leader's No. 2; Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham Lindsey Olin GrahamSenate Republicans face tough decision on replacing Ginsburg Democratic senator calls for eliminating filibuster, expanding Supreme Court if GOP fills vacancy What Senate Republicans have said about election-year Supreme Court vacancies MORE (R-S.C.); Intelligence Committee Chairman Richard Burr Richard Mauze BurrRep. Mark Walker says he's been contacted about Liberty University vacancy Overnight Defense: Trump rejects major cut to military health care | Senate report says Trump campaign's Russia contacts posed 'grave' threat Senate report describes closer ties between 2016 Trump campaign, Russia MORE (R-N.C.); and Senator John Cornyn John CornynBipartisan praise pours in after Ginsburg's death Chamber of Commerce endorses McSally for reelection Airline job cuts loom in battleground states MORE (R-Texas), a member of GOP leadership and the Judiciary and Intelligence Committees, threw their support behind the deal.

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The five GOP senators said in a joint statement that the Senate will take up the legislation and that they "look forward to voting to pass it in the Senate as soon as possible."

"This legislation balances the need to reauthorize these critical authorities with the need for tailored reforms to increase accountability. The 2016 election made it abundantly clear that the FISA process is not perfect. We commend House Republicans for working closely with Attorney General Barr to craft a bill that contains concrete changes to address the abuses of 2016 without jeopardizing the resources that keep Americans safe," the senior GOP senators added.

Congress has until Sunday night to reauthorize three soon-to-expire provisions of the 2015 USA Freedom Act. In addition to dealing with the intelligence programs, the House bill would also make reforms to the court associated with the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA).

McConnell began the process of putting the bill on the Senate calendar on Wednesday night, a first step to it getting a vote. He is expected to complete that process on Thursday.

If opponents forced him to file cloture, a procedural move that eats up days of floor time, that means the earliest an initial vote could take place is Saturday morning. The bill would then still face up to an additional 30 hours of debate.

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A growing number of Republicans have raised concerns about the FISA court after Justice Department inspector general Michael Horowitz found 17 significant inaccuracies and omissions in the FISA warrant applications related to Trump campaign associate Carter Page.

But opponents argue the House bill, which passed Wednesday in a 278-136 vote, does not go far enough to provide more transparency and privacy protections for those targeted.

The issue has divided some of Trump's biggest allies on Capitol Hill. While Lee and Paul oppose the House bill, Graham and House members including Rep. Jim Jordan James (Jim) Daniel JordanHouse passes resolution condemning anti-Asian discrimination relating to coronavirus Republicans call for Judiciary hearing into unrest in cities run by Democrats Trump, GOP seek to rebut Democratic narrative on night one MORE (R-Ohio) support it.

Paul, in particular, wants to get language in the bill that would prevent FISA warrants from being used against American citizens, as well as preventing information collected in the FISA court from being used against Americans in domestic court.

“I think this so-called FISA reform does a disservice to the president. I think nothing it will prevent this from happening again ... to another president,” Paul said.