Overview
- President Trump signed the provision last week creating a statutory right for senators to sue the DOJ for at least $500,000 per instance when their records were obtained without prior notice.
- House Republicans say they were blindsided by the Senate add-on and are planning a fast-track vote this week to repeal it, according to The Hill.
- The clause applies retroactively to 2022, potentially covering phone-record subpoenas issued to multiple GOP senators during Special Counsel Jack Smith’s Arctic Frost investigation.
- Senators are divided on using the new remedy, with Lindsey Graham and Tommy Tuberville vowing to sue while Ron Johnson, Bill Hagerty, and Dan Sullivan say they do not plan to seek damages.
- Reporting and GOP comments have tied the insertion to Senate leadership, with Ted Cruz citing John Thune’s role, as critics condemn the measure as self-dealing and supporters frame it as a check on investigative overreach.