Overview
- In a 427-0 vote, the House attached a repeal of the senators’ damages-and-notification law to a six-bill, $1.2 trillion government funding package headed to the Senate.
- The contested statute, added quietly to November’s shutdown-ending measure, requires service providers to alert Senate offices about data seizures and grants up to $500,000 per violation.
- The law applies only to senators and retroactively covers actions since 2022, potentially enabling those whose records were obtained during Jack Smith’s 2023 Jan. 6–related probe to sue.
- By linking the rollback to a must-pass package days before funding expires on Jan. 30, House leaders are pressing the Senate to accept the change or risk a partial shutdown.
- Sen. Lindsey Graham has repeatedly objected to efforts to scrap the law, while Sen. John Thune suggested redirecting any awards to the Treasury, leaving the Senate’s next steps unclear.