Key Takeaways
- House Republicans are clashing with Senate Republicans over a provision paying senators $500,000 for legal claims.
- The controversial provision would compensate eight Republican senators for phone record subpoenas in the 2020 election investigation.
- Democrats are strongly opposing the provision, with plans to introduce an amendment to remove it.
- A separate, undebated provision within the funding bill bans all hemp THC products.
Deep Dive
- House Republicans are upset by a provision in a continuing resolution that would pay eight Senate Republicans $500,000 each for legal claims.
- These claims relate to phone number subpoenas issued during Jack Smith's investigation into Donald Trump's 2020 election challenges.
- Congressman Scott expressed anger, noting the provision was added without committee markup or House notification, and Congressman Chip Roy called its retroactive nature 'egregious'.
- MAGA Republican Congressman Griffith expressed concern about the legal claims provision but stated he would vote for the bill.
- Griffith will vote against any amendments to end a government shutdown, prioritizing government funding to avoid harm to his constituents.
- He noted other issues were handled more transparently and disagreed with a separate hemp provision solution.
- Democratic Congressmember Joe Neguse criticized the provision to pay eight Republican Senators up to $500,000 for frivolous legal claims.
- An unnamed Democratic senator found the provision 'repugnant' and suggested an amendment to remove it, stating they were unaware of it.
- Democratic Senators Chris Murphy and Mark Kelly described the $500,000 taxpayer payment as 'outrageous' and a 'rigging of the legal system'.
- The New York Times reported that a retroactive provision could make eight Republican lawmakers eligible for at least $500,000 each in legal claims.
- The bill's provision removes sovereign immunity defenses, limiting the government's ability to resist such claims.
- Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries stated House Democrats would offer an amendment to remove the 'self-dealing' provision.
- Separately, the shutdown deal includes an undebated ban on hemp products, effectively banning all hemp THC products, which could destroy an industry.