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2h ago

Senate Approves Funding Bill Letting Senators Sue Over Secret Phone-Record Searches

The House now weighs a retroactive remedy that could let senators targeted by 2023 phone‑record subpoenas seek damages.

U.S. Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) (L), one of eight Democrats to say he will vote with Republicans to open the government, speaks to reporters outside the Senate Chamber during votes on November 10, 2025 on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC.
The U.S. Capitol building in Washington, D.C., U.S., November 10, 2025. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein
Pro-Trump protesters gather in front of the U.S. Capitol Building on Jan. 6, 2021.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune on Nov. 10, 2025 in the U.S. Capitol.

Overview

  • The shutdown-ending package the Senate passed includes a legislative-branch clause that now moves to the Republican-led House for consideration.
  • The provision creates a private right of action with $500,000 in statutory damages per violation plus attorneys’ fees, bars absolute or qualified immunity, and allows suits within five years of discovery for conduct after Jan. 1, 2022.
  • Phone and data providers must notify Senate offices when federal agents seek senators’ records, with a court-ordered nondisclosure limited to 60 days if the lawmaker is a criminal target and specified risks are found.
  • The measure appears to cover eight Republicans whose toll records were subpoenaed in 2023 — Lindsey Graham, Marsha Blackburn, Bill Hagerty, Josh Hawley, Dan Sullivan, Tommy Tuberville, Ron Johnson and Cynthia Lummis — while not extending to House members such as Rep. Mike Kelly.
  • Sen. Ted Cruz says Majority Leader John Thune inserted the clause; Democrats decry the late process and potential taxpayer payouts, while Jack Smith’s attorneys have maintained the subpoenas were lawful.