'Just Corrupt': Lindsey Graham Blocks Repeal of Senate GOP Payout Provision
"American taxpayers should not be forced to pay the bill for partisan payouts, least of all for Senate Republicans who were implicated in the insurrection that nearly toppled our democracy," said one House Democrat.
US Sen. Lindsey Graham on Thursday blocked an effort to repeal a provision allowing senators to reap potentially millions of dollars in taxpayer money by suing the Justice Department.
Shortly after the House voted 426-0 to repeal the provision, which Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) slipped into a government funding package that lawmakers approved earlier this month, Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-NM) requested unanimous consent for the Senate to follow suit.
Graham (R-SC), who recently described Medicaid funding as a "money laundering scheme," objected to Heinrich's request, blocking the bill's passage. The South Carolina senator has been vocal in his defense of the payout provision even as GOP lawmakers in the House have condemned it as abhorrent.
The provision empowers senators to sue the federal government for damages of at least $500,000 if investigators obtained their phone records or other data without notifying the targeted lawmakers. The language applies retroactively, making eligible Graham and other Republicans whose records the Justice Department obtained as part of its investigation into President Donald Trump's lawless attempt to subvert the results of the 2020 election.
Graham has openly vowed to take advantage of the provision, saying in an interview earlier this week that he intends to "sue the hell out of" the Justice Department for "tens of millions of dollars."
Rep. Don Beyer (D-Va.) said in response that Graham "may be upset, but he's not entitled to millions of taxpayer dollars."
"Republican senators' secret provision making themselves eligible multimillion-dollar payouts is just corrupt," said Beyer.
So far, despite mounting criticism from members of his own party, Thune appears bent on upholding the provision. The Republican senators positioned to benefit from the measure are Marsha Blackburn and Bill Hagerty of Tennessee, Josh Hawley of Missouri, Dan Sullivan of Alaska, Tommy Tuberville of Alabama, Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, and Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming.
Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.), the top Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee, said following the House repeal vote that "American taxpayers should not be forced to pay the bill for partisan payouts, least of all for Senate Republicans who were implicated in the insurrection that nearly toppled our democracy."
"Majority Leader Thune must bring this measure to a vote at once," said DeLauro. "The American people deserve to know on the record who supports taxpaye-funded payouts for Republican senators, and who does not. If they really do support this cash grab, they should own it."
