Shutdown Deal Packs a Surprise as Republicans Strike Back After Phone Snooping
Tucked inside the Senate’s late-night vote to end the government shutdown was a quiet but powerful rebuke to the Department of Justice. A new provision slipped into the legislative funding bill gives sitting U.S. senators the right to sue the federal government for secretly accessing their data — a direct response to revelations that Special Counsel Jack Smith’s team pulled metadata from multiple GOP lawmakers’ phones.
The move follows Senator Chuck Grassley’s bombshell that FBI agents had combed through phone records of several Republican members of Congress without their knowledge. Among those reportedly swept up in Smith’s so-called “Arctic Frost” investigation were Sens. Marsha Blackburn, Ron Johnson, Lindsey Graham, Josh Hawley, and others, all of whom have been outspoken critics of the Biden administration and defenders of President Trump.
The provision — which passed as part of a broader bill to fund the legislative branch — authorizes any senator whose Senate data was acquired or accessed without notice to sue the U.S. government for up to $500,000 per violation. The law specifically bars federal employees or agencies from claiming qualified or absolute immunity, a legal shield often used to block lawsuits.
According to the text:
“No officer, employee, or agent of the United States or of any Federal department or agency shall be entitled to assert any form of absolute or qualified immunity as a defense to liability.”
In criminal investigations, the DOJ would still be allowed to delay notification for 60 days, but only under strict circumstances — like if there’s credible risk that evidence could be destroyed or a subject might flee.
Senator Ted Cruz confirmed to POLITICO that Senate Majority Whip John Thune (R-SD) was the architect of the provision.
“Leader Thune inserted that in the bill to provide real teeth to the prohibition on the Department of Justice targeting senators,” Cruz said.
The timing of this legislative strike couldn’t be clearer. It follows Special Counsel Jack Smith’s decision to obtain phone records related to the 2020 election aftermath — a move that ensnared not just Trump, but also lawmakers who had questioned the integrity of that election.
The FBI’s data-gathering operation reportedly analyzed call metadata from GOP members, an overreach that critics say was politically motivated and constitutionally suspect.
Meanwhile, the broader spending package sailed through the Senate on a series of 60–40 votes, with enough Democrats joining Republicans to overcome a filibuster. The House is expected to follow suit, bringing the longest government shutdown in U.S. history to an end.
But the real takeaway may be the message to DOJ: Hands off Congress. Republicans have now armed themselves with a legal mechanism to fight back — and any future surveillance of lawmakers will come with a heavy price.