The U.S. House of Representatives voted (426-0) to approve the repeal of a provision tucked into the GOP’s “clean” government funding bill last week, which would have allowed eight Republican Senators to sue the Department of Justice for $500,000 each.
The eight Senators, including Lindsey Graham (R-SC), contend that their phone records were unlawfully seized without consent — although the FBI reportedly did receive lawful subpoenas to review their phone records during the federal agency’s Arctic Frost investigation into the January 6, 2021 insurrection.
Below is Graham on Fox News, threatening to sue the government for “Tens of millions of dollars.”
Graham: My phone records were seized. I’m not going to put up with this crap. I’m going to sue.
Hannity: For how much?
Graham: Tens of millions of dollars. pic.twitter.com/EwIAVflN5u
— Acyn (@Acyn) November 19, 2025
Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) defended the provision. He said: “We strengthened that provision when it comes to allowing a federal government agency, the Justice Department, in this case, to collect information, private information, on individual senators. We think that is a violation of powers under the Constitution.”
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) said he was blindsided by the inclusion of the provision in the funding bill. He told Fox News, “I was kind of frustrated by it.”
Former Republican Congressman Justin Amash (MI) responded to Graham’s threat to sue the government and collect taxpayer money by noting what he characterized as the Senator’s hypocrisy: “Lindsey Graham has repeatedly defended, promoted, and voted for the unlawful, warrantless surveillance of millions of Americans via the Patriot Act, FISA 702, and other unconstitutional programs.”
Graham’s leading Democratic opponent in the 2026 South Carolina Senate election, pediatrician Dr. Annie Andrews, is celebrating the vote against Graham’s provision on social media, where she wrote: “Unanimous bipartisan opposition to Lindsey Graham’s grift.”
The Senate Majority PAC, which is dedicated to electing a Democratic majority in the U.S. Senate, wrote: “Multi-millionaire Lindsey Graham wants a taxpayer payday while South Carolina families struggle to buy groceries. He is a disgrace.”