REPORT: Bill to end government shutdown includes special provision for senators who were snooped on by Jack Smith

November 11, 2025

From the New York Post: A provision tucked into the government funding bill that passed the Senate on Monday would compensate GOP senators whose phone records were seized without their knowledge during former special counsel Jack Smith’s Arctic Frost investigation into efforts to overturn the 2020 election.

Up to nine Senate Republicans would be able to sue the government and be eligible for up to $500,000 in damages, plus attorneys’ fees, for each instance in which their call logs were coughed up to the feds.

Phone carriers would also be required to immediately notify senators and their offices if their devices, accounts, records or communications are sought — unless the lawmakers are the target of a criminal investigation.

In such cases, judges can issue a 60-day nondisclosure order if they find an imminent threat to “the life or physical safety of any person” or that the targeted senator poses a flight risk, that evidence would be destroyed, that witnesses would be intimidated or that the investigation would be jeopardized.

The report explains that the language was added to an appropriations bill that would fund legislative branch activities until Sept. 30, 2026.

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) reportedly said Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) was responsible for adding the provision into the bill.

“Leader Thune inserted that in the bill to provide real teeth to the prohibition on the Department of Justice targeting senators,” Cruz told Politico.

The U.S. Senate passed the package of funding bills Monday night, and the legislation will now be voted on by the House. If approved, it will then go to President Donald Trump for his signature.

John Thune secures provision in government funding bill letting senators sue for phone records seizure https://t.co/aK0FWHLACN

— POLITICO (@politico) November 11, 2025