The spending package that ended the government shutdown was divisive the moment it reached the public, but it appeared even more controversial when the political world learned of a provocative provision that Senate Republicans tucked into the package.

Under the language quietly inserted into the bill, GOP senators whose phone records were searched as part of special counsel Jack Smith’s Jan. 6 investigation would have the authority 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 this 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.

Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, one of the eight eligible GOP senators, nevertheless boasted about his intention to take advantage of the opportunity Republicans created for themselves. The Washington Post reported:

Graham, who had his phone records seized, said Wednesday that he would ‘definitely’ sue under the law. ‘And if you think I’m going to settle this thing for a million dollars? No,’ Graham told reporters in South Carolina. ‘I want to make it so painful no one ever does this again.’

He did not appear to be kidding.

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But before Graham’s lawyers head to a nearby courthouse, they should probably take note of the fact that a whole lot of House members — including plenty of Republicans — aren’t pleased about the Senate GOP’s gambit, and they’re eager to do something about it. Roll Call reported:

Speaker Mike Johnson announced plans to pursue legislation next week that would repeal a Senate provision in a major spending package that incensed House Republicans and threatened to prolong the partial government shutdown. The must-pass spending measure drew eleventh-hour objections from House members of both parties after the discovery in recent days of a provision that would allow senators to sue for at least $500,000 each when federal investigators search their phone records in a judicially sanctioned probe without notifying them.

In comments to reporters this week, the House speaker conceded the Senate’s provision “was a really bad look,” which his chamber intends to “fix” in a standalone bill.

A House vote on undoing the policy is expected next week, and it should pass with broad and bipartisan support. When the Senate would take up such a measure is unclear. Watch this space.