Senate Republicans quietly added a provision to legislation passed to reopen the federal government that could lead to large payouts for several party members.
If the legislation becomes law, the language would allow Republican senators to sue the federal government for purportedly getting ahold of their private data without proper notification. The legislation provides for compensation of up to $500,000 in each case.
The unusual provision seeks to compensate the eight Republican senators who had their information accessed during former special counsel Jack Smith’s investigation of President Donald Trump. During that investigation, phone records for the eight senators were obtained by the FBI as Smith’s office looked into attempts by Trump to illegally overturn the 2020 election, which he lost to former President Joe Biden.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune inserted the language, according to Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, who claims to have been targeted in the records probe.
Insurrectionists loyal to President Donald Trump storm the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
The GOP supported this self-serving provision while opposing enhanced Affordable Care Act subsidies that have significantly lowered health care costs for millions of Americans. On Monday, they even rejected a Democratic amendment to continue the subsidies.
Republicans have tried to promote the idea that the records being accessed were part of an unethical partisan investigation, but the facts do not support their claims.
When the issue surfaced in October, Smith’s lawyers said the Republican allegations were “inaccurate.” They pointed out that Smith’s actions to secure the records (including an additional Republican member of the House) “were consistent with the decisions of a prosecutor who has devoted his career to following the facts and the law, without fear or favor and without regard for the political consequences.”
Ultimately, Smith’s investigation led to an indictment of Trump for mishandling classified materials and for his attempts to overturn the lawful result of the election. Trump’s refusal to accept his loss also was the motivation behind his incitement of the riot at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. The charges were pulled after Trump won a second term in the 2024 election.
Trump became the first president in U.S. history to be impeached twice after a majority of the House voted to do so a week after the Jan. 6 attack. Not only have most Senate Republicans failed to rebuke Trump for his actions against America—now they’re trying to profit from it all.
