In a deeply divided U.S. House where practically every vote seems contentious, it’s good to know that there are still some ideas that can pass with literally no opposition. The New York Times reported:
The House on Wednesday voted to repeal a measure that creates a new legal avenue for senators to sue the government for at least $500,000 each if federal investigators access their phone records without notifying them. The unanimous 426-to-0 vote reflected the deep well of bipartisan fury that built up over the provision, quietly inserted by Senate Republicans into legislation to reopen the government, that blindsided senior lawmakers overseeing spending bills.
To briefly recap, the spending package that ended the government shutdown was divisive the moment it reached the public, but it appeared even more controversial after the political world learned of a provocative provision that Senate Republicans had tucked into the package.
Under the language included in the bill, GOP senators whose phone records were searched as part of special counsel Jack Smith’s Jan. 6 investigation would have the ability to file lucrative lawsuits. (Republican Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas told Politico that it was Senate Majority Leader John Thune himself who made sure this provision was included in the final bill.)
Even by contemporary congressional standards, it was a brazen move — in part because the GOP’s “Arctic Frost” claims appear baseless, in part because the provision was added to the legislation in secret, and in part because it’s rare to see senators pave the way for themselves to file dubious lawsuits in which they personally would be rewarded with taxpayer money.
A Roll Call report added, “Congress flouted several legal principles with an unusual provision creating a streamlined path only for senators to file lawsuits and collect at least $1 million each for government actions in the previous administration, experts and critics say.”
A variety of senators, including some of the GOP members whose phone records were subpoenaed, distanced themselves from the provision — with one notable exception.
Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham, one of the eight GOP senators eligible for a possible payout, boasted Wednesday about his intention to take advantage of the opportunity Republicans created for themselves. A day later, the South Carolinian told Fox News he plans to “sue the hell out of these people,” to the tune of “tens of millions of dollars.”
There’s still no evidence that “these people” did anything wrong.
For his part, the Senate majority leader tried to defend the policy that’s generated bipartisan rebukes, telling NBC News, “What this does is enables people who are harmed, in this case, United States senators, to have a private right of action against the weaponization … by the Justice Department.” Again, the senators were not actually harmed in any way, and if Republicans have anything to substantiate their baseless “weaponization” claims, they’ve kept that evidence well hidden. In other words, Thune championed a provision to allow Senate Republicans to cash in, with money from American taxpayers, in response to a faux scandal. His position further suggests that the South Dakotan will likely ignore its House-backed repeal, despite the unanimous vote in the lower chamber. This post updates our related earlier coverage.
Steve Benen is a producer for "The Rachel Maddow Show," the editor of MaddowBlog and an MS NOW political contributor. He's also the bestselling author of "Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans' War on the Recent Past."
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