Congress is advancing a bill that could end the longest U.S. government shutdown and reward eight Republican senators with big payouts. The Senate passed the measure on Monday. It lets lawmakers whose phone records were taken during the Jan. 6 Capitol riot probe sue the Justice Department for privacy violations.
The bill makes it illegal, in most cases, to collect a senator’s phone data without notice. Affected lawmakers can claim $500,000 per violation, plus legal costs. The Justice Department could settle the claims instead of fighting them in court.
Senator Marsha Blackburn said Republicans will fight until “those who weaponized government are held accountable.” She and seven others — Lindsey Graham, Bill Hagerty, Josh Hawley, Dan Sullivan, Tommy Tuberville, Ron Johnson, and Cynthia Lummis — voted for the bill.
Democrats condemned the clause. Senator Patty Murray said Republicans added “a corrupt cash bonus of at least $500,000 each.” The records came from Special Counsel Jack Smith’s investigation into Donald Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election.
Smith later dropped the case after Trump’s 2024 victory, following Justice Department rules that bar prosecuting a sitting president.
