**Government Shutdown Deal Sparks Outrage Over Special Legal Protections for Senators**
A last-minute deal to end the government shutdown has ignited outrage among Democrats after lawmakers discovered it includes a clause allowing senators to sue the federal government over searches of their phone records tied to the January 6 investigation.
On Tuesday night, the House Rules Committee voted down a Democratic amendment that would have removed a controversial provision from the funding bill. The provision allows senators to sue the federal government for up to $500,000 if their communications data were seized during investigations related to the January 6 attack.
Newsweek has contacted Senate Majority Leader John Thune and eight Republican senators likely affected by the provision for comment.
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### Why It Matters
This dispute highlights deep divisions between the House and Senate as lawmakers scramble to end the government shutdown. By allowing senators to pursue lawsuits over data seizures, the provision could set a precedent for lawmakers to receive special legal protections not available to ordinary Americans.
Democrats argue the measure undermines accountability and transparency related to the Justice Department’s January 6 investigations. Republicans, however, insist the clause is necessary to protect congressional independence.
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### What To Know
The language of the amendment appears to open the door for several Republican senators to take legal action over actions the Justice Department carried out as part of special counsel Jack Smith’s probe into Donald Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election.
Last month, GOP lawmakers revealed an FBI document showing that investigators subpoenaed phone records belonging to eight senators and one member of the House for calls made around the time of the January 6, 2021, Capitol riot. Under the bill, phone and internet providers would have to notify Senate offices and the Senate sergeant-at-arms if federal authorities request senators’ data. Courts could only delay such notice if the senator is the direct target of a criminal investigation.
The measure gives senators the right to sue the federal government if their data is accessed or seized “in violation” of the bill’s terms. Each senator could seek $500,000 per violation, and the government would be barred from using standard immunity defenses.
Lawmakers would have up to five years from learning of a breach to file suit, and the provision applies retroactively to any cases since January 2022. Since the FBI reviewed senators’ call records in 2023, those involved could file lawsuits under these new rules.
According to the FBI document, the phone records reviewed belonged to eight Republican senators: Lindsey Graham, Bill Hagerty, Josh Hawley, Dan Sullivan, Tommy Tuberville, Ron Johnson, Cynthia Lummis, and Marsha Blackburn, along with Representative Mike Kelly of Pennsylvania. None of the senators appear to have publicly stated that they plan to sue under the provision.
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### Controversy and Criticism
The measure, reportedly added by Senator John Thune, has drawn sharp criticism from Democrats, who argue it creates special legal protections for a select group of lawmakers.
Representative Jamie Raskin called the measure a “corrupt million-dollar jackpot provision for a select group of Republican senators,” while Representative Teresa Leger Fernández described it on social media as “outrageous. Republicans in the Rules committee just green-lit corrupt Senator payouts. Make sure everyone knows,” she posted on X.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries called the amendment “insanity,” stating it would provide “insurrectionist sympathizers” with a financial windfall. “We’re going to tattoo that provision, just like we’re going to tattoo the Republican health care crisis, on the forehead of every single House Republican who dares vote for this bill,” Jeffries said.
Some House Republicans have also voiced concerns. Representative Austin Scott said, “I personally agree this should be removed. The problem is, if we remove it, it has to go back to the Senate.” GOP Representative Chip Roy called the provision “self-serving, self-dealing kind of stuff,” and added that it “needs to get fixed as soon as possible.”
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### Shutdown Deal and ACA Tax Credits
The Senate on Monday approved a short-term spending bill to keep the government funded through the end of January, marking a major step toward ending the record shutdown. The measure advanced after several Democratic senators broke ranks with party leadership to side with Republicans.
The agreement provides temporary funding for federal agencies while setting up a future Senate vote on extending Affordable Care Act (ACA) tax credits, which are set to lapse on January 1. Many Democrats had previously refused to back any deal without assurances those credits would be renewed.
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### What People Are Saying
**House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries:**
“House Democrats are going to offer an amendment before the Rules Committee to get that self-dealing sick provision out of the spending agreement. The notion that eight Republican senators…would give themselves the ability to rip millions of taxpayer dollars away from the American people so they can line their pockets because these people were insurrectionist sympathizers, is insanity.”
**Representative Jamie Raskin:**
“The Senate’s Republican Majority Leader, John Thune, just tucked one of the most blatantly corrupt provisions for political self-dealing and the plunder of public resources ever proposed in Congress into the GOP’s spending bill. If it were to pass…eight Republican Senators [would get] a personal payday of at least one million dollars each paid directly by U.S. taxpayers.”
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### What Happens Next
The House is scheduled to vote on the deal to end the shutdown on Wednesday. If it passes, the government shutdown will come to an end.
Stay tuned for updates on this developing story as lawmakers debate transparency, accountability, and the future of congressional legal protections.
https://www.newsweek.com/democrat-fury-shutdown-deal-senators-sue-phone-searches-11032226
