Is This Senate Provision ‘Corrupt Fleecing’ or Justice for Arctic Frost?

A provision slipped into the funding bill that reopened the government at the last moment has caused harsh disagreement between the House and Senate.

The provision in question, signed into law by President Donald Trump on Wednesday night, enables Senators to sue the Department of Justice for at least $500,000 each instance their data is seized or subpoenaed without notice. 

The provision was created in response to eight Republican Senators allegedly having their phones tapped during former President Joe Biden’s administration. The surveillance of the GOP senators was part of Special Counsel Jack Smith’s “Arctic Frost” investigation into alleged attempts to overturn the result of the 2020 presidential election.

The House Caught Off Guard

When the House returned, Republicans expressed their extreme displeasure with the provision, saying it amounts to Senators passing a law which could make them millionaires.

“This language did not go through any committee markup. This language was not shared with the House of Representatives prior to it being put in the bill,” said Rep. Austin Scott, R-Ga., as he reviewed the bill in the House Rules Committee. “And I personally agree that it should be removed.”

Scott argued that, because Senators can sue for at least $500,000 for each instance of their data being seized, it could lead to multiple senators extracting millions of dollars from taxpayers.

Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, similarly denounced it, saying it is why “people have a low opinion of this town.”

Scott said the next day on the House floor that he had a bill to overturn the provision. His rules committee colleague, Rep. Jim McGovern, D-Mass., however, called for sending the bill back to the Senate, saying the “shamelessly corrupt fleecing” would be permanent upon the bill’s passage.

Rep. Greg Steube, R-Fla., ultimately voted against the bill due to the provision.

“I could not in good conscience support a resolution that creates a self-indulgent legal provision for certain senators to enrich themselves by suing the Justice Department using taxpayer dollars,” Steube wrote on X. “There is no reason the House should have been forced to eat this garbage to end the Schumer Shutdown.”

Scott told The Daily Signal after leaving the floor that it is “up to the Senate” whether or not to undo the provision.

“But I do not think that the language was discussed with our leadership on the House side,” he added. “And I do think that it was discussed across party lines in the Senate.”

After the vote to reopen the government, Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., flatly condemned the provision.

“I’m going to be honest, I was surprised and very frustrated” by the provision, Johnson said. He added that Senate Minority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., is “a trustworthy, honest broker, and that’s why I was so surprised when we found out about that provision.”

Johnson announced that he would be seeking a House vote to repeal it.

“I think that was way out of line. I don’t think that was a smart thing … and the House is going to reverse—we are going to repeal that, and I’m going to expect our colleagues in the Senate to do the same thing,” Johnson said.

Which GOP Senators Plan on Making Use of the Provision?

Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, one of the Sens. who could stand to benefit from the provision should he sue, told Politico on Monday, “Leader Thune inserted that in the bill to provide real teeth to the prohibition on the Department of Justice targeting senators.”

Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., announced he plans to sue. “It bothers the hell out of me and I’m going to sue, and I’m going to create opportunities for others to sue that weren’t in the Senate,” Graham told reporters in Charleston.

“If you think I’m going to settle this thing for a million dollars—no. I want to make it so painful, no one ever does this again,” Graham said, “I’m going to pursue through the court system—remedies.”

Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., whose office previously said she was interested in suing, has since stated she supports repealing the provision.

“This fight is not about the money,” she wrote on X. “It is about holding the left accountable for the worst weaponization of government in our nation’s history.”

So far, the majority of known Senators who have had their records seized without notice have indicated they are not interested in pursuing legal action.

Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., said he has “no plans” of suing. Sen. Bill Hagerty, R-Tenn., has similarly said, “I do not want and I am not seeking damages for myself paid for with taxpayer dollars.” A spokesperson for Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, said the senator was unaware of the provision and does not plan to sue.

Some of the allegedly surveilled GOP senators are not supportive of the provision, however. Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., said the provision was “a bad idea.”

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