US EditionThune Fires Back at House GOP Effort to Repeal Senators’ $500,000 Damages Provision
House Speaker Mike Johnson led a unanimous vote to repeal a Senate-added provision allowing senators to sue for up to $500,000 over unauthorized phone record access amid DOJ probes.
- House leaders suspended rules to fast‑track a Wednesday two‑thirds vote on ending the provision allowing senators to seek up to $500,000 for phone record lawsuits.
- In response to the probe, lawmakers wrote the provision into the funding deal, which the U.S. Senate inserted into the budget bill that became law when the 2026 fiscal year started Oct. 1.
- Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., on Tuesday said, `The House isn't implicated in what we did,` and argued the provision lets harmed United States senators sue over Justice Department actions while protecting Article I.
- On Wednesday, the House voted unanimously to remove the provision after Speaker Mike Johnson called the measure a bad look, while Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., supported the repeal saying, `I think it's a bad idea` and `I had my phone tapped, so I'm all for accountability.`
- After the House repeal, Senate attempts to tweak the measure were rejected on Thursday, blocking Senate Majority Leader John Thune's effort to forfeit damages won by eight GOP senators to the Treasury.
10 Articles
10 Articles
Thune attempt to alter controversial ‘Arctic Frost’ provision blocked
An effort by Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) on Thursday to tweak a new provision bolstering senators’ ability to sue the Justice Department for seizing their phone records without their knowledge during a Biden-era investigation was rejected. The unsuccessful endeavor was in response to GOP tensions over the stipulation that was slipped into the recent government funding deal to end the shutdown, and came less than 24 hours after the H…
Top Republican leaders 'hit a rough patch' after months of lockstep fealty to Trump
It’s not just the rank-and-file Republicans in Congress increasingly split over President Donald Trump’s multiple scandals. Now, according to an analysis from Politico, a new division is also emerging between House Speaker Mike Johnson and Senate Majority Leader John Thune.As the piece notes, Johnson and Thune have “have largely worked in lockstep since January” and “known for rising above whatever theatrics are embroiling their respective confe…
House Votes to Claw Back Provision Allowing Senators to Sue over Jan. 6 Investigations
The House of Representatives voted unanimously Wednesday to rescind a provision of the recently passed spending bill that would allow eight Republican senators to personally sue the government for up to $1 million if their phone records were seized as part of special counsel Jack Smith’s investigation into the January 6 attack. Maryland Democratic Congressmember Jamie Raskin called the measure “one of the most blatantly corrupt provisions for po…
House push to overturn $500,000 cell phone litigation provision hits Thune blockade
The overwhelming House vote to repeal a provision allowing senators to sue if the Justice Department obtained their phone records without notice may ultimately fall flat as major obstacles in the Senate stand in the way of the change. The House late on Wednesday voted to scrap the “Arctic Frost” provision, which snuck its way [...]
House votes to repeal shutdown deal perk that could grant GOP senators $500K in taxpayer funds * WorldNetDaily * by WND Staff
Nov 20, 2025: 5:14 a.m.: House votes to repeal shutdown deal perk that could grant GOP senators $500K in taxpayer funds The House voted to repeal a controversial Senate-crafted provision—part of the legislation that ended the government shutdown—that could grant some GOP senators $500,000 in taxpayer-funded damages https://t.co/QzmRq4xFLt — The Wall Street Journal (@WSJ) November 20, 2025
A John Thune-Mike Johnson Split
Punchbowl News: “Tensions between the Senate and House are as old as time. And it’s not unusual for the Senate majority leader and House speaker to be at odds, even when they’re from the same party. Much of it stems from the differences in rules, procedures and culture between the two chambers.” “Yet Senate and House Republicans are buzzing this week about two high-profile schisms between Thune and Johnson, whose relationship has seen relatively…
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