In a surprise and overwhelming vote Thursday night, the U.S. House of Representatives voted to block intelligence agencies from conducting warrantless and “backdoor” searches of U.S. communications.

The measure passed the House by a wide margin with bi-partisan support — the vote was 293-123.

[T]he amendment to the 2015 Defense appropriations bill would prohibit the search of government databases for information on U.S. citizens without a warrant. It would further cut off funding for the CIA and National Security Agency to build security vulnerabilities, or “backdoors,” into domestic tech products or services for surveillance purposes. Rep. Dan Lipinski (D-Ill.) was the only member to vote present.

Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), the chief sponsor of the bipartisan amendment, said it would limit the controversial NSA spying.

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“The American people are sick of being spied on,” Massie said.

The vote is a blow to the Obama Administration’s unfettered use of the NSA for warrantless surveillance of Americans.

Rep. Massie’s NSA amendment was tacked onto the 2015 Defense appropriations bill — and came as a surprise to many Capitol Hill watchers.

However, it is unlikely the U.S. Senate will take up the measure as Obama’s Senate gatekeeper — Majority Leader Harry Reid — will not let a vote happen.