Senate Republicans have secured a significant provision in the bipartisan government funding bill that enables senators to sue the federal government for unauthorized phone records seizure. The legislative language, inserted by Senate Majority Leader John Thune, allows senators to potentially receive substantial financial compensations if their data is taken without their knowledge. This provision is seen as an escalation of the GOP’s efforts to critique the Department of Justice’s handling of investigations into former President Donald Trump and former special counsel Jack Smith.
The provision, which was introduced by Thune, allows senators to sue for damages if their data is taken without their knowledge and could award them hundreds of thousands of dollars per violation. In an interview, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) claimed Thune was responsible for the inclusion of the provision, stating that it provides ‘real teeth to the prohibition on the Department of Justice targeting senators.’ The legislative language was tucked into the legislative branch spending measure for fiscal year 2026, part of a three-bill ‘minibus’ of appropriations measures that Senators were set to vote on alongside a continuing resolution to fund the government through January 30.
The provision is controversial, with Democrats labeling it a partisan attempt to undermine the DOJ’s authority. Senate and House Judiciary Committee Republicans are now demanding answers from Smith, with Senate Judiciary Chair Chuck Grassley of Iowa seeking information from the administration relating to the probe and House Judiciary Chair Jim Jordan of Ohio calling on Smith to sit for a transcribed interview. Smith has said he is eager to appear before lawmakers in an open forum.
The provision states that electronic services providers must notify a Senate office if the provider receives a request to disclose the data from that senator, or senator’s office. Moreover, the legislative language stipulates that the provider cannot be barred from notifying the senate office under a court order, though that notification may be delayed in the event the senator in question is under criminal investigation. Chief Judge James Boasberg of the District of Columbia District Court approved measures that would have precluded phone providers from notifying the senators that their data was requested by federal law enforcement officers. Lawmakers have since renewed calls for his impeachment over the move, viewing him as hostile on a number of fronts to Trump’s agenda.
This portion of the legislative branch appropriations bill also appears to provide a cash bonus for those Senators who were targeted by Smith’s probe. If the provision included in the bill is violated, the Senator can sue the federal government, and if the lawmaker succeeds in the case, the person will be awarded $500,000 or more for each violation by the government. Cruz said the provision was ‘very directly’ a response to Smith’s actions. Democrats on the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on the Legislative Branch were not consulted on the provision as part of the otherwise bipartisan bill, according to a senior Democratic legislative aide granted anonymity to speak candidly.
‘I am furious that the Senate Minority and Majority Leaders chose to airdrop this provision into this bill at the eleventh hour — with zero consultation or negotiation with the subcommittee that actually oversees this work,’ said Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), the ranking member of the legislative branch subcommittee. ‘This is precisely what’s wrong with the Senate.’ It was something of a swipe against Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), who was involved in negotiating the funding bill with Thune. Schumer’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
A Senate Democratic leadership aide defended the decision to include the provision, saying, ‘This protects the institution and Senators from an out of control Pam Bondi run Department of Justice.’ Asked whether the funding in the form of a payout for senators was taking money away from other programs across the federal government, Cruz criticized the Justice Department under Biden as ‘the worst single instance of politicization our country has ever seen.’ Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), an outspoken privacy hawk, argued that the provision’s inclusion in the spending bill was ‘very troubling,’ given the seeming lack of oversight or discussion around its development. He added that his GOP colleagues appeared to be distancing themselves from the language’s origins, suggesting Thune might be providing cover for rank-and-file Republicans who could have demanded it. ‘It seems that there’s quite an effort on the other side, people saying that they don’t know anything about it,’ he said. ‘Which ought to be a wakeup call to everybody about the possibility of abuse.’