Senate Republicans are mostly running away from a new provision allowing them to sue the government for subpoenaing their telephone records.
The provision put into a bill to reopen the government after the prolonged shutdown by Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., has proved politically toxic, with House Republicans castigating the maneuver and vowing to vote to remove it.
Of the eight Republicans whose phone records were subpoenaed as part of the special counsel's investigation of President Donald Trump's attempts to challenge the results of the 2020 presidential election, only Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said he plans to file a lawsuit.
"Oh, definitely," Graham said at a news conference. "And if you think I'm going to settle this thing for a million dollars — no. I want to make it so painful, no one ever does this again. ... I'm going to pursue through the court system."
Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., said in a statement he has no plans to take advantage of the provision, and Sen. Bill Hagerty, R-Tenn., told Politico he would not seek damages and did not want taxpayer money.
Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, said he would support a House measure to repeal it, while Sen. Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyo., stressed that she played no role in the provision being put into the bill.
"We must not allow the politicization of federal agencies to become routine," a spokesperson for Lummis said. "Liquidated damages provisions are commonly used and this provision is the only way to hold Jack Smith and wrongdoers accountable."
Other Republican senators have opposed the provision.
"I think the Senate provision is a bad idea," said Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., in a statement.
"There needs to be accountability for the Biden DOJ's outrageous abuse of the separation of powers, but the right way to do that is through public hearings, tough oversight, including of the complicit telecomm companies, and prosecution where warranted."
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., on Thursday said the House will "repeal" a provision in the government spending package that would allow senators to sue if the government investigates their phone records without notification.
"I was very angry about it," Johnson said.
Democrats have also joined in on the criticism, with Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., warning it could set a dangerous precedent.
"Instead of working to lower costs and put more money in Americans' pockets, Senate Republicans are racing to hand out tax breaks to billionaires — and pay themselves for their work with President Trump to overturn the 2020 election," DeLauro told Politico.
"By inserting this poison pill payout into the Legislative Branch bill, the Senate majority has set a dangerous precedent and created additional obstacles for conversations between the four corners moving forward on the remaining 2026 funding bills," DeLauro added.
Sam Barron ✉
Sam Barron has almost two decades of experience covering a wide range of topics including politics, crime and business.
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