Republicans trash Tuberville’s ‘self-serving’ $500,000 shutdown lawsuit deal: ‘This is outrageous’

An increasing number of House Republicans are incensed over a provision tucked into a spending bill ending the government shutdown allowing Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., and seven of his colleagues to sue the federal government for at least $500,000 each.

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said Wednesday that he was unaware of the provision, calling it “a really bad look.” Johnson said the House would introduce a standalone bill next week to repeal it.

But Rep. Greg Steube, R-Fla., claimed the standalone bill would be dead on arrival in the Senate, doubting Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., would bring it to the floor when Thune is the one who pushed for the provision that would benefit eight Republican senators, including Tuberville.

Steube said he voted against the continuing resolution to fund the government over the lawsuit language.

“I could not in good conscience support a resolution that creates a self-indulgent legal provision for certain senators to enrich themselves by suing the Justice Department using taxpayer dollars,” he tweeted. “There is no reason the House should have been forced to eat this garbage to end the Schumer Shutdown.”

The provision enables Tuberville to sue the government for at least $500,000 for not giving the senators notice that their phone records were accessed as part of then-special counsel Jack Smith’s investigation into the Jan. 6 insurrection.

Tuberville’s office has declined repeated requests for comment, including whether the intends to sue.

Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., who is among the eight Republican senators that the provision applies to, told reporters he does plan to sue the federal government.

“Oh, definitely. 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,” Graham said.

Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., tweeted a list of the senators that stand to benefit from the provision while expressing her disapproval.

“This is outrageous. Really disappointed to see some of the names on this list. You can’t self-deal like this—especially not by weaponizing a government shutdown,” Luna wrote. “Absolutely ridiculous, @LeaderJohnThune.”

Rep. Chip Roy, R-Tex., shared a similar sentiment.

“There’s going to be a lot of people, if they look and understand this, are going to see it as self-serving, self-dealing kind of stuff,” Roy said, according to Salon. “I don’t think that’s right.”

House Appropriations Committee Chairman Tom Cole, R-Okla., said he was also opposed to the provision but that reopening government was a higher priority.

“Did I know about this provision in the bill? No. Do I think it needs to be in a funding bill? Not particularly,” Cole said, according to Salon.

“But do I think getting the government open is important? Yes I do.”

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