WASHINGTON—The House of Representatives unanimously voted on Jan. 22 to overturn a provision that would allow senators to sue the Department of Justice for unlawfully searching their phone records.
The measure, introduced by Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-N.C.), passed by a vote of 427–0 as an amendment to a must-pass appropriations bill. It mirrors legislation the House approved unanimously in November but that the Senate has yet to consider.
The House is scheduled to vote on the appropriations bill on Jan. 22. If it goes through the House, the Senate would need to pass it.
The contested provision was included in the bill that ended the 43-day government shutdown in November. It permits senators to seek up to $500,000 in damages if they were not notified that their phone records were accessed during the Justice Department’s Arctic Frost investigation, which examined President Donald Trump’s efforts to challenge the 2020 election results. Under federal law, lawmakers must be notified when their records are searched.
Several senators said they were unaware how the compensation provision was added to the shutdown bill.
“In terms of this provision that we all found out later was on the bill, my first question ... is, how does the provision get there?” Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) told The Epoch Times on Nov. 18. “It wasn’t the virgin birth. I can tell you that—somebody put it in there.”Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.) said, “I was not aware when it got put in there, which is very frustrating to me.”
A number of GOP senators have objected to the measure, arguing it improperly compensates lawmakers with taxpayer funds.
“I am for accountability for Jack Smith and everyone complicit in this abuse of power,” Sen. Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.), who said he was targeted in the Arctic Frost investigation, wrote on X. “I do not want and I am not seeking damages for myself paid for with taxpayer dollars.”
Rep. Greg Steube (R-Fla.) also criticized the provision, posting on X that the standalone bill passed by the House in November “does nothing to change the fact that certain senators will get paid an additional $500k of taxpayer money.”
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) defended the provision, saying it is a matter of accountability.
“If you cannot hold your government accountable for violating your rights or potentially violating your rights, you have a very dangerous government,” he said on the Senate floor on Jan. 14.
