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mike johnson
Lindsey Graham Vows to Cash In On GOP Spending Bill's 'Million-Dollar Jackpot'
"Hard not to see this as a corrupt politician collecting on his legislatively permitted bribe," said one Democratic lawmaker.
Nov 13, 2025
While critics fumed at the prospect of Republican US senators suing to collect $1 million or more each in taxpayer money as part of a bizarre provision slipped into the government funding bill, one senior GOP lawmaker said Wednesday that he's all in on the proposal—and won't stop at a mere million.
Tucked away in the Senate plan to end the longest federal government shutdown in US history is legislation compelling telecommunications companies to notify lawmakers if their phone records were subjected to seizure as part of former Department of Justice Special Counsel Jack Smith's investigation into President Donald Trump’s role in the January 6, 2021 Capitol insurrection and effort to illegally remain in power after losing the 2020 election.
The bill allows senators who were not informed that their records were accessed to sue the government for $500,000 each time their data was subpoenaed or reviewed without notification. Just eight Republican senators would qualify.
Congressman Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) slammed the proposal as a "million-dollar jackpot" paid for by taxpayers.
Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) also weighed in, saying on the House floor Wednesday that "it is unconscionable that what we are debating right now is legislation that will give eight senators over $1 million a piece and we are robbing people of their food assistance and of their healthcare to pay for it."
"How is this even on the floor?" she asked before the House sent the bill to Trump's desk. "How can we vote to enrich ourselves by stealing from the American people?"
AOC: "It is unconscionable that what we are debating right now is legislation that will give 8 senators over $1 million a piece and we are robbing people of their food assistance and of their healthcare to pay for it. How is this even on the floor? How can we vote to enrich… pic.twitter.com/eYCJKLlJx6
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) November 12, 2025
However, on Wednesday, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) embraced the proposal.
"Oh, definitely," Graham replied when asked if he would sue. "And if you think I'm going to settle this thing for a million dollars? No. I want to make it so painful, no one ever does this again."
“If I’m subject to a criminal investigation, then the rules apply to me like they would any other citizen, but this wasn’t about investigating me or other senators for a crime. It’s a fishing expedition,” Graham asserted. “It will also cover any Democrats in this Senate this term that may have something happened to them."
But Democrats—and many Republicans—have expressed staunch opposition to the proposal, with Congressman Gabe Amo (D-RI) writing on X, "Hard not to see this as a corrupt politician collecting on his legislatively permitted bribe."
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) called the provision "a really bad look."
At least one GOP House lawmaker has vowed to vote against the continuing resolution unless the provision is rescinded:
However, the proposal was not removed, and Steube was one of 209 House lawmakers who voted against the bill—which passed with 222 "yes" votes and was subsequently signed by Trump.
Raskin ripped Graham on X Thursday, saying, "Sir, you were treated like every other American who gets caught up in a massive criminal event or conspiracy."
"Do you now want to ban all grand jury subpoenas of phone records," he added, "or just vote yourself a million-dollar taxpayer jackpot because you got one and you think senators should have special privileges over everyone else?"
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Grijalva Signs Discharge Petition to Force Epstein Files Vote Right After Being Sworn In
The congresswoman called House Speaker Mike Johnson's delay a politically motivated "abuse of power" and reiterated her support for releasing the documents, declaring that "justice cannot wait another day."
Nov 12, 2025
After a weekslong delay that US House Speaker Mike Johnson tried to blame on the government shutdown, Adelita Grijalva was finally sworn in on Wednesday and swiftly became the crucial 218th signature on a discharge petition to force a vote on releasing files related to deceased sex offender and financier Jeffrey Epstein.
Johnson (R-La.) has denied that he pushed off administering the oath of office to Grijalva (D-Ariz.) to postpone a vote requiring the US Department of Justice to release its files on Epstein, who was friends with Republican President Donald Trump. However, critics, including many discharge petition signatories, don't believe him.
Addressing the House of Representatives on Wednesday, Grijalva called Johnson's delay a politically motivated "abuse of power."
The newest congresswoman also thanked the survivors of Epstein's abuse who were seated in the gallery and confirmed that she would sign the discharge petition immediately, declaring that "justice cannot wait another day."
Working Families Party national press secretary Ravi Mangla said in a Wednesday statement: "Congratulations to WFP champion Adelita Grijalva on her swearing-in today—after weeks of stalling by Speaker Mike Johnson. Not only will families in southern Arizona finally have representation in Congress, Americans are getting a proven fighter who's ready to hit the ground running. And one of the first orders of business will be holding Jeffrey Epstein's accomplices accountable by forcing the release of the files."
Demand Progress has led a campaign that's resulted in Americans sending around 570,000 messages and making more than 8,000 calls asking Congress to release the files. A senior policy adviser to the group, Cavan Kharrazian, said Wednesday that "every new revelation, every denial from the White House, and every deflection from congressional leaders is a reason why we should just clear the air and release the Epstein files."
Noting Epstein's "personal and business connections to presidents, prime ministers, royalty, and even foreign governments," Kharrazian argued that "there is no good reason to keep the information that our government has about this under wraps, except naked self-interest," and urged all House members to support the Epstein Files Transparency Act.
The bill is spearheaded by Congressmen Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) and Thomas Massie (R-Ky.). Three other Republicans—Reps. Lauren Boebert (Colo.), Nancy Mace (S.C.), and Marjorie Taylor Greene (Ga.)—joined Democrats in signing the discharge petition to force a vote on the legislation.
"Thank you to the brave survivors who made the possible. Let's bring it to the floor for a vote!" Khanna wrote on social media on Wednesday, celebrating Grijalva's oath and signature.
Massie said that "in spite of a last-ditch effort by the president to foil the motion, and Speaker Johnson's propaganda, the discharge petition I have been leading just succeeded! In December, the entire House of Representatives will vote on releasing the Epstein files."
Before Grijalva officially joined the chamber on Wednesday, the New York Times reported that top Trump administration officials met with Boebert in the White House Situation Room, and Trump spoke with her by phone. According to the newspaper, the president had also been reaching out to Mace, but they had not connected.
By Wednesday evening, Politico reported that "Republicans are bracing for a significant chunk of the conference" to vote for Khanna and Massie's bill once it hits the floor. GOP Congressmen Don Bacon (Neb.), Tim Burchett (Tenn.), and Rob Bresnahan (Pa.) all suggested that they would support it.
While the discharge petition's success set up a December vote, Johnson announced Wednesday night that he would speed up the process by holding a vote on releasing the files next week.
There were files released throughout Wednesday by the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. Initially, Democrats on the panel released a few emails from Epstein. In 2011, he wrote to now-imprisoned co-conspirator Ghislaine Maxwell that Trump was a "dog that hasn't barked" and "spent hours at my house" with a victim of sex trafficking. In 2019, Epstein wrote to author Michael Wolff that Trump "knew about the girls as he asked ghislaine to stop."
The panel's ranking member, Congressman Robert Garcia (D-Calif.), said in a statement: "The more Donald Trump tries to cover up the Epstein files, the more we uncover. These latest emails and correspondence raise glaring questions about what else the White House is hiding and the nature of the relationship between Epstein and the president."
"The Department of Justice must fully release the Epstein files to the public immediately," he added. "The Oversight Committee will continue pushing for answers and will not stop until we get justice for the victims."
Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform on Wednesday afternoon: "The Democrats are trying to bring up the Jeffrey Epstein Hoax again because they'll do anything at all to deflect on how badly they’ve done on the Shutdown, and so many other subjects. Only a very bad, or stupid, Republican would fall into that trap."
"The Democrats cost our Country $1.5 Trillion Dollars with their recent antics of viciously closing our Country, while at the same time putting many at risk—and they should pay a fair price," he added. "There should be no deflections to Epstein or anything else, and any Republicans involved should be focused only on opening up our Country, and fixing the massive damage caused by the Democrats!"
Meanwhile, Republicans on the House Oversight Committee responded with a document dump, releasing 20,000 pages of documents from Epstein's estate.
This article was updated after House Speaker Mike Johnson announced plans to hold a vote next week.
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Adelita Grijalva Will Finally Be Sworn In, After Being Blocked From Taking Office for Record 7 Weeks
Speaker Mike Johnson has been accused of blocking Grijalva from her seat because she'd be the 218th vote to release the files on the late sex criminal Jeffrey Epstein.
Nov 11, 2025
After being kept out of Congress for more than seven weeks by Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson, the Arizona Democrat Adelita Grijalva will finally be sworn in as a member of the US House of Representatives this week.
Johnson told CNN on Monday night that Grijalva will be sworn in after Congress returns from a lengthy absence this week, when it is expected to vote to end the longest government shutdown in US history.
The blockade on Grijalva, who was elected to fill her late father's House seat on September 23, is also the longest that an elected member of Congress has been kept out of the chamber after winning a special election.
While Johnson has insisted he could not swear in members of Congress during a recess, he notably did so this April for two Florida Republicans—Reps. Randy Fine and Jimmy Patronis—just one day after their elections.
Though he's denied the accusation, many have assumed that Johnson has dragged his feet on seating Grijalva because she is expected to be the final vote needed for the House to vote on a measure requiring the US Department of Justice to release its files on deceased sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
In late October, 20 victims of Epstein and his partner Ghislane Maxwell signed an open letter calling on Johnson to swear Grijalva into office.
"This delay appears to be a deliberate attempt to block her participation in the discharge petition that would force a vote to unseal the Epstein/Maxwell files," the survivors said. "The American public has a right to transparency and accountability, and we, as survivors, deserve justice."
In a news appearance last Monday, Grijalva said that someone told her on election night that Johnson is "not going swear you in because of those files."
"I thought, no, that can't be it," she said. "And here we are..."
The financier's ties to President Donald Trump have led to mounting suspicion, including from fellow Republicans like Reps. Thomas Massie (Ky.) and Marjorie Taylor Greene (Ga.), who have said they plan to join Democrats in voting for the files' release.
Johnson has managed to delay a vote on the Epstein files for months. In July, as a bipartisan resolution pushed by Massie and Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) was gaining steam, Johnson sent Congress home early for its August recess, which delayed business until September.
In the final weeks before the shutdown, after a bill to fund the government stalled in the Senate, Johnson sent members home again on September 19, just days before Grijalva's election would have made her the 218th vote to force an Epstein resolution to the floor.
While Grijalva expressed excitement at finally being sworn in, she said, "this delay never should have happened in the first place."
"For seven weeks, 813,000 Arizonans have been denied a voice and access to basic constituent services," she said in a statement published Monday. "This is an abuse of power that no speaker should have."
The House is expected to vote on a continuing resolution to reopen the government after eight Senate Democrats caved to Republican pressure on Sunday after weeks of holding the line in hopes of securing the extension of Affordable Care Act subsidies that, if allowed to expire at the end of the year, will result in health insurance premiums more than doubling for over 20 million Americans.
"While I am eager to get to work," Grijalva said, "I am disappointed that one of my first votes will be on a bill that does nothing to protect working people from skyrocketing premiums, loss of health coverage, or do anything significant to rein in Trump's abuse of power."
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