The Democrat-led Congress handed President Bush a major legislative victory this weekend when it voted to broadly expand the government’s authority to eavesdrop without warrant on the international telephone calls and email messages of American citizens. After weeks of pressure from President Bush, both the House and Senate approved rewriting the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. The legislation was rushed through Congress in the last days before the August recess. On Friday, the Senate passed the bill by a 60-to-28 vote. Sixteen Democrats voted in favor of the measure. Then on Saturday 41 Democrats joined Republicans to pass the bill in the House. The new legislation moves the power to approve international surveillance from a special intelligence court to the attorney general and the director of national intelligence. Critics say the bill also gives the Bush administration the power to order the nation’s telecommunication providers to create permanent spying outposts for the federal government. Kate Martin of the Center for National Security Studies said Congress has more or less legalized the National Security Agency’s warrantless spying program.