House votes to nix controversial provision that could enrich senators

The House of Representatives voted unanimously Wednesday evening to repeal a new law allowing senators to sue the federal government for massive sums over secretly subpoenaed phone records.

House lawmakers voted 426 to 0 to overturn the provision tucked inside a recent government funding bill, which permitted senators — and no House members — to sue the Department of Justice for $500,000 or more for each violation if their electronic records are requested without their knowledge. The measure, however, is likely dead on arrival in the upper chamber due to Senate Majority Leader John Thune’s defense of the new law.

“We’ll see what the House does, but I will tell you that that was designed — that was a Senate-specific solution,” Thune told reporters Wednesday. “We strengthened that provision when it comes to allowing a federal government agency, the Justice Department, in this case, to collect information, private information, on individual senators. We think that is a violation of powers under the Constitution.”

“I believe that you need to have some sort of accountability and consequence for that kind of weaponization,” Thune also said Wednesday.

The controversial provision, quietly inserted into a bipartisan Senate deal to end the record-breaking government shutdown, came in response to recently unearthed documents subpoenaed by Judiciary chairman Sen. Chuck Grassley. The records showed that former special counsel Jack Smith tapped 10 Republican senators’ telephone metadata in 2022 as part of the FBI’s “Arctic Frost” investigation into President Donald Trump over alleged election interference.

Republicans have cried foul due to Smith seizing their phone records without notification. Smith notably sought gag orders for the subpoenas, permitted by U.S. District Chief Judge James Boasberg, which prohibited service providers from notifying senators for one year after the records request.

Grassley has made public nearly 200 subpoenas issued by Smith during the course of his probe that targeted more than 400 GOP entities and conservative individuals.

House lawmakers have railed against the new law for carving out a special privilege for senators and voiced concern that it could give a considerable payday for those eligible to sue.

“I’m not voting to give Lindsey Graham half a million dollars,” Republican Florida Rep. Greg Steube said regarding the controversial provision.

Graham said Wednesday that he plans to sue the DOJ for more than the minimum $500,000 payout, but wants to expand the eligibility of those eligible to sue.

Lawmakers in both parties have criticized the provision being added to the legislative text without their knowledge. Republican Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley, who said he learned about the provision’s inclusion right before voting on the funding package, argued the language allowing senators to collect monetary rewards from suing the federal government is a “bad idea.”

“As someone who was actually targeted — there were only eight of us — I would just say that I want accountability probably more than anybody,” Hawley told reporters. “I think taxpayer money is not the way to do it. The way to do it is tough oversight.”

HAWLEY: Arctic Frost phonetapping lawsuits are misguided.

“I wasn’t told about it, I wasn’t asked about it. I learned about it when I read the bill text – right before we voted.

“As someone who was actually targeted – there were only eight of us – I would just say that I want… pic.twitter.com/b2bdR0OiWp

— Caden Olson (@_cadenolson) November 19, 2025

House Speaker Mike Johnson said last week that he was “very angry” about the provision’s inclusion in the government funding package, noting that Senate leadership had not consulted him.

Thune said Thursday that although he and Johnson may have “slight differences” on some occasions, the duo continues to maintain a strong working relationship.

“We communicate on a consistent basis, and we are unified in terms of our objectives and goals,” Thune said.

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