Overview
- At a Nov. 5 Commerce hearing, Sen. Bernie Moreno said he obtained Democratic senators’ vehicle VINs to check for optional driver-assistance features.
- Sen. Jacky Rosen called the data collection an invasion of privacy, accused him of stalking her staff, and asked him to submit the VINs with details on his methods and intended use.
- Committee Chairman Ted Cruz declined Rosen’s unanimous-consent request to compel disclosure during the hearing.
- Moreno’s office says the information is publicly visible, yet it remains unclear where the VINs were gathered, how they were compiled, and whether any were recorded at private residences.
- Commerce Committee Democrats are considering ethics or privacy probes to determine how the data were obtained, with prospects for formal action uncertain under Republican leadership.