House votes to block senators' “millions” in phone search lawsuits, in GOP check of Trump loyalists
PHOTO CAPTION: Illustrative photo — U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) is seen during a hearing at the Capitol in Washington, DC, U.S., April 26, 2022. Greg Nash/Pool via REUTERS
By David Morgan
WASHINGTON - The Republican-controlled U.S. House of Representatives voted unanimously on Wednesday to repeal a controversial provision allowing senators to sue federal investigators for $500,000 over unannounced phone record searches, the latest sign of fraying Republican unity 10 months into President Donald Trump's second term.
The widely criticized Senate provision, tucked into an unrelated funding bill that ended the longest government shutdown in U.S. history last week, would allow eight Republican senators to seek millions of dollars in damages for alleged privacy violations stemming from the Democratic President Joe Biden administration's investigation of the January 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol by Trump supporters.
All 426 Republican and Democratic lawmakers in attendance voted for repeal, a tally likely to compel consideration in the Senate, where Republican Majority Leader John Thune defended the provision earlier in the day as an important protection for its members against federal agency actions that violate the constitutional separation of powers.
The House action marked the second time this week that Republicans have shown cracks in the partisan cohesion that has dominated the party since Trump took office in January. After months of bitter debate and opposition from Trump, the House and Senate on Tuesday overwhelmingly adopted a measure requiring the Justice Department to divulge its unclassified materials on late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
"We'll find out what our colleagues in the Senate want to do," Thune told reporters. "There is a high level of interest in addressing the weaponization of the federal government, in this case the Biden Justice Department."
JOHNSON BLASTS 'BAD OPTICS'
House Speaker Mike Johnson said he was shocked and angered by the Senate provision and called for its repeal, adding later that the language should be changed to address what he called "bad optics."
House Republicans and Democrats attacked the Senate provision on Wednesday as an unacceptable enrichment scheme for public officials. Several cited remarks from one of the senators involved, Republican Lindsey Graham, who vowed to sue the Justice Department for "tens of millions of dollars."
Republican Representative Austin Scott, who authored the repeal, described the Senate provision as "probably the most self-centered, self-serving piece of language that I have ever seen in any piece of legislation."
TRUMP SEEKS PAYMENT FROM DOJ
Last month, the New York Times reported that Trump is seeking $230 million from the Justice Department for legal costs tied to federal investigations against him.
Democrats noted that the eight Republican senators targeted by the January 6 investigation had supported Trump's efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election that he lost to Biden.
"They are senators who may have had knowledge of, or even participated in, efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election - efforts that culminated in a violent attack on this very institution," said Democratic Representative Joseph Morelle.
Despite Johnson's anger over the Senate provision, Thune played down differences with his House counterpart, telling reporters: "For the most part, I would say that we have an incredibly strong working relationship."
Not all House Republicans were willing to give their Senate colleagues the benefit of the doubt.
“A little personal message to the Senate: take this up and pass it, or you’re not getting any support from this member for any of your measures,” said hardline Republican Representative Chip Roy.
(Reporting by David Morgan; Editing by Scott Malone and Christian Schmollinger // REUTERS)
