House unanimously votes to repeal Senate phone records provision added to bill to end shutdown

The House voted unanimously Wednesday night  to repeal a provision in a bill that reopened the federal government that allowed senators to sue the government if they aren’t notified of instances when law enforcement seeks their phone records.

The provision was for eight Republican senators whose phone records were accessed as part of an FBI investigation into the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot. The investigation started in 2023 and sought and obtained data about the senators’ phone use from Jan. 4 through Jan. 7, 2021.

The provision also required that the senators be notified if their data is disclosed. If the senators had not been notified and they successfully sue, the court would have been required to award “the greater of statutory damages of $500,000 or the amount of actual damages” for each violation.

The provision does not apply if the senator is the target of a criminal investigation or if a court ordered that the notification be delayed.

Misty Severi is a news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.