Overview
- The House voted 426–0 to rescind a provision letting senators sue for at least $500,000 if their phone data was accessed without notice.
- Senator Martin Heinrich sought unanimous consent to pass the House repeal, but Senator Lindsey Graham objected and said he plans to sue the DOJ and others.
- Majority Leader John Thune proposed redirecting any lawsuit awards to the U.S. Treasury to prevent personal enrichment, and that attempt was blocked.
- The contested language applies retroactively to 2022, covers only senators, sets a minimum $500,000 per violation, and carves out exceptions for targets or court-ordered delayed notice.
- The measure is tied to subpoenas for toll records in Special Counsel Jack Smith’s Jan. 6-related probe, and the Senate will not revisit the issue until it returns in early December.