The House of Representatives voted to repeal a new law that allows senators to sue the government over the seizure of phone records

WASHINGTON (AP) — The House voted overwhelmingly Wednesday to repeal part of a new law that gives senators the ability to sue the federal government for millions of dollars if their personal or office data is accessed without their knowledge.

The 427-0 vote was a bipartisan rebuke after Majority Leader John Thune added the provision to a funding bill passed earlier this month to end the nation’s longest government shutdown. The Senate’s language shocked House lawmakers on both political sides and immediately sparked accusations of self-dealing at taxpayer expense.

It seemed unlikely that senators would agree to repeal the House, with many vocally advocating for it. Thune added this provision following recent revelations that the FBI in 2023 analyzed the phone records of up to 10 senators as part of the investigation into President Donald Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election. The records enabled investigators to see basic information about the date and time of the calls but not the content of the communications.

Senators were outraged by the revelation, and Thune added the provision to the spending bill in the final hours before its passage. Thune said on Wednesday that the Justice Department’s actions under former President Joe Biden were a “violation of the separation of powers under the Constitution” and that it was “something that must be addressed.”

Read more: Lawmakers say the FBI analyzed senators’ phone records as part of Trump’s Jan. 6 investigation

Trump did not say whether he would sign the repeal. A senior White House official, who requested anonymity to describe the president’s thinking, said last week that the president had no objections to the language the senators added and privately noted that he did not think it was a bad provision. This person said the White House was completely surrounded while senators were drafting the bill.

Angry lawmakers demand repeal

But adding the lawsuit clause did not please other lawmakers. House Republicans were threatening to block the funding bill at the last minute until House Speaker Mike Johnson promised to vote to undo it.

Before the repeal vote on Wednesday evening, Rep. Austin Scott, R-Ga., said the provision allowing lawsuits was “probably the most selfish and self-serving piece of language I have ever seen.”

House Democrats were equally angry.

“This kind of selfish, one-sided get-rich-schemes at taxpayer expense is why Americans loathe this Congress,” said Rep. Joe Morrell, D-N.Y.

Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries said that since Thune did not agree to take up the bill, Wednesday’s vote is “for show.”

“It’s not serious. It’s not designed to get a final outcome,” Jeffries said.

Under the new law, senators can now sue for damages of up to $500,000 for each case of data recovery without their knowledge. The senators concerned said the Biden administration, through the investigation by former special counsel Jack Smith, targeted political rivals.

House Republicans criticized the investigation, known as “Arctic Frost,” but said elected officials should not benefit financially as a result.

The Senate is unlikely to take up the repeal and pass it without changes without Thune’s support. At a Republican conference meeting on Wednesday, senators discussed the possibility of working with the House to expand the provision to apply to all lawmakers as well as any groups targeted by the government. But it is unclear exactly how, or whether, this will happen.

What Republican senators are saying

South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham, one of the senators targeted and the most vocal supporter of the new law, said he would use it to sue the Department of Justice and Verizon, the phone company that turned over the records. He said after the conference meeting that he was open to expanding this provision to include other individuals and groups, but he was “not backing down.”

“I’m going to make this as painful as possible so no one can do this again,” Graham said.

Alabama Sen. Tommy Tuberville also suggested he would sue after being targeted, posting on X earlier this month that former private attorney Smith should be “disbarred and thrown in prison.”

“If they are not, I will sue every Biden official involved in this matter, to make sure this never happens to a governor again,” Tuberville wrote.

Other Republican senators who were targeted said they would not seek reparations, including Tennessee Sen. Bill Hagerty and Florida Sen. Rick Scott.

“I have no idea how it got into” the spending bill, Scott said of the provision. “It’s not like I need to make any money from the government.”

Scott said he would support House repeal if it came to a vote in the Senate, as did Oklahoma Sen. Markwayne Mullen, who was not among those targeted. Mullen says he supports the idea of ​​keeping the government accountable, but he does not believe the legislation should be applied retroactively.

Mullen suggested that senators could work out a solution with the House as they consider the next package of spending bills.

“I have no problem keeping the government accountable and preventing it from overstepping its bounds,” Mullen said.

Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer said he approved the language before the Senate approved the spending package, even though he voted against the sweeping legislation to end the shutdown.

“The bottom line is that Thune wanted this provision, but Democrats approved it so they would be protected from similar actions from the Trump administration,” Schumer said.

“But I would support repealing all of that,” Schumer said. “And I hope that happens.”

Associated Press writer Seung-Min Kim contributed to this report.