House Votes Unanimously to Remove Provision Allowing Senators to Sue Government
On Wednesday, House lawmakers unanimously voted to remove a provision from the stopgap bill that would have allowed spied-on senators to sue the government for up to $500,000. The provision was added during the rush to end the government shutdown last week.
The House GOP lawmakers felt blindsided by the provision and accused their Senate peers of jamming it into the bill without proper discussion. Rep. John Rose (R-Tenn.) criticized Senate Majority Leader John Thune for mocking House Republicans and playing them for fools.
Thune defended the provision in an interview with CNN but did not confirm whether the Senate would vote on the House’s bill to eliminate the controversial perk for senators.
Last month, it was revealed that the FBI’s Arctic Frost probe, later taken over by former special counsel Jack Smith, had accessed phone records of 10 GOP lawmakers, including nine senators. The phone records included metadata showing call details but not the content of the calls.
The controversial provision in the stopgap bill allowed senators to sue the government for damages if their call logs were shared with federal agencies. The provision was retroactive to 2022, enabling GOP senators to seek up to $500,000 per instance of phone metadata disclosure.
Sen. Graham criticized the investigation as an attempt to undermine President Trump and vowed to take legal action against the government. He described the situation as worse than Watergate and expressed his determination to fight back.
Despite the House’s move to remove the provision, the Senate’s response remains uncertain as Thune did not commit to considering the House’s bill. The controversy surrounding the spying incident continues to unfold as lawmakers on both sides navigate the aftermath of the Arctic Frost probe.
