The House didn’t just tap the brakes on a controversial Senate GOP maneuver—they slammed them. In a rare moment of absolute unanimity, lawmakers voted 426–0 on Wednesday to rip out a provision that would have let senators claim up to $500,000 in taxpayer money every time the Justice Department subpoenaed their phone records without advance notice.
Yes, you read that right: a half-million dollars per instance, funded by taxpayers, quietly tucked into the massive funding bill that ended the record shutdown. The measure effectively allowed senators to sue the federal government for cash damages whenever DOJ pulled their records without giving them a heads-up.
House Republicans joined Democrats not just to reject it—they moved to rip it out immediately.
A Provision That Appeared Out of Nowhere
According to CNN, the language was slipped into the bill by Senate Majority Leader John Thune at the request of several GOP senators. But it immediately detonated a bipartisan political headache.
Speaker Mike Johnson said he was blindsided. Members of both parties were suddenly asking why senators should get six-figure payouts for something ordinary Americans have zero recourse over.
“We’re striking the provision as fast as we can, and we expect the Senate to move it,” Rep. Chip Roy said. “We believe there’s a fairly sizable growing majority over there that believes that they should strike it.”
Whether the Senate actually will is another question.
Some of those lawmakers were quick to distance themselves from the new payout scheme.
Sen. Josh Hawley called the measure a “bad idea.”
“I’m all for accountability. I mean, I had my phone tapped, so I’m all for accountability, don’t get me wrong, but I just, I think taking taxpayer money is not the way to do it. The way to do it is tough oversight,” he said.
Sen. Dan Sullivan’s office said he won’t sue and supports killing the provision entirely.
But Not Everyone Is Walking Away
Then there’s Lindsey Graham.
Graham made clear he not only supports the provision—he’s ready to cash in. He said he plans to sue DOJ for “far more” than $500,000.
He told reporters he will “definitely” sue and warned, “And 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.”
Other Republicans aren’t quite on the same page. Sen. Mike Rounds, who wasn’t swept up in the probe, said the provision was intended to “send a message” after revelations about special counsel Jack Smith’s subpoenas—but said many GOP senators would be “open for a reconsideration.”
But Thune allies like Sen. Steve Daines say the House is wasting its time and made clear he’s sticking with Thune.
“My name is not on the list, so I don’t benefit from this. This seems to be a strong pushback,” Daines said. “I think the provision that Leader Thune put in there was appropriate, and I stand by his leadership.”
A Rare Moment of Total Unity—But a Senate Fight Is Coming
It’s not often the House goes 426–0 on anything, let alone something tied to payoffs for lawmakers. The vote shows just how toxic this measure became almost instantly—not only because of the dollar amounts, but because of the optics: senators writing themselves a legal hotline to taxpayer cash.
The House wants it gone. The public outrage is loud. And now the question is whether Senate Republicans are willing to defy their own leader, retreat from the provision, and kill it before it becomes an even bigger political mess.
