Congress

Thune steadfast on data seizure payouts for senators as Republicans seek repeal

Published

4 months ago

November 19, 2025

The House plans to vote Wednesday to repeal a provision that could award eight GOP senators hundreds of thousands of dollars for having their phone records seized without their knowledge during a Biden-era probe. Senate Majority Leader John Thune, who secured the measure, is standing his ground.

“The House is going to do what they are going to do with it,” he told reporters Tuesday night. “It doesn’t apply to them.”

But many senators from both parties are eager to roll back the legislative language they didn’t know Thune secretly negotiatedwith Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer in the government funding package that ended the longest shutdown in history last week. Republicans could revolt if leadership doesn’t give them a vote to overturn it.

In interviews Tuesday with nearly a dozen lawmakers, confusion, frustration and anger ran rampant about what has quickly become branded as a politically toxic, taxpayer-funded windfall for a select few. Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) went so far as to quip there could be “some stabbings” at the Senate GOP’s weekly lunch Wednesday when the topic will inevitably get discussed.

“Whoever put this in had an obligation to tell us about it, and they didn’t,” said Kennedy. “There’s something called trust and good faith around here.”

Even Schumer conceded the widely unpopular language should ultimately be scrapped.

“The bottom line is, Thune wanted the provision and we wanted to make sure that at least Democratic senators were protected from [Attorney General Pam] Bondi and others who might go after them,” he said Tuesday. “But I’d be for repealing all of it and I hope that happens,” he told reporters.

It’s not clear whether it’s too late to reverse course in the Senate.

The provision at issue, which President Donald Trump signed into law last week, would award senators $500,000 or more if they discover their electronic records were seized without notification.

In seeking to attach it to the funding bill, Thune was directly responding to furor from several Senate Republicans eager for retribution against former special counsel Jack Smith, who obtained the phone records for at least eight Republican senators during his investigation into Trump’s efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election.

Thune in an interview acknowledged that members would indeed discuss the issue at lunch Wednesday but reiterated that he personally was not having second thoughts about including the measure in the funding deal.

“It’s designed to protect United States senators,” Thune said. “We have a number of people who are interested in making sure that that sort of thing has a consequence if that kind of weaponization of the government along the lines of what Jack Smith did is ever employed again in the future.”

Senate Commerce Chair Ted Cruz (R-Texas), who claims he was targeted by the Smith probe, praised Thune for including the language. Senate Budget Chair Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), who is confirmed to have had his records subpoenaed during the Smith investigation, has said he plans to take advantage of the provision to make it “so painful” for those involved.

Some Senate Republicans admitted they hope the language is preserved. Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.) said he wanted the provision expanded to let a broader range of parties sue to show “how corrupt Jack Smith is.”

It’s far from certain disgruntled lawmakers would make it easy for Thune to move a standalone bill to revoke the provision, even if he decides he wants to — they could insist on controversial amendments or make the voting process drawn-out and disruptive. Nor is it clear Republicans would allow the provision to be stripped in a subsequent government funding bill.

There’s far less hand-wringing in the House, where members were criticizing the language before they even voted on the Senate-passed funding bill last Thursday.

The House Wednesday evening is expected to easily pass a bill to repeal the payout provision with support from Speaker Mike Johnson and House Judiciary Chair Jim Jordan, who is working to get Smith to sit for a transcribed interview before his committee.

In the Senate, several lawmakers signaled Tuesday night they were anxious to distance themselves from the new policy and wanted to follow the House’s lead.

“I’m going to support repealing it,” said Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.), the chair of the legislative branch appropriations subcommittee.

He added he was not alerted about the language until after he already voted for the funding package last week and that he later received an “apologetic” call from GOP leadership over how the matter was handled. Thune confirmed that he had spoken to Mullin and that the Oklahoma Republican was not aware of the provision’s drafting.

Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, said she was likewise in the dark in advance of the vote.

“That was something that the leaders put into the bill, and I played no role in that whatsoever,” she told reporters.

Democrats made clear they would continue to pummel Republicans if Thune failed to take action.

Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), the ranking member on the legislative branch appropriations subcommittee, said he was “furious” with leadership and has since introduced a bill to pare back the provision.

Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), another senior appropriator, said in an interview his party was “going to make every effort to try to reverse that pretty serious mistake.”

“I guess there’s an argument that it offers some future protection, but that’s not what the provision is about,” he said. “The provision is about a cash payout to Republican senators, plain and simple.”

Jennifer Scholtes and Meredith Lee Hill contributed to this report.

Congress

House committee subpoenas Pam Bondi to testify on her handling of the Epstein case

Published

20 minutes ago

March 4, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

A House committee voted Wednesday to subpoena Attorney General Pam Bondi to testify about her handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files.

Five Republicans joined with all Democrats in support of a motion to call the nation’s top law enforcement official up to Capitol Hill for questioning, and the motion itself was offered by GOP Rep. Nancy Mace of South Carolina.

It underscores the increasing frustration with Bondi among members of her own party, catalyzed in part by the Epstein saga.

The Justice Department did not immediately return a request for comment.

Reps. Lauren Boebert of Colorado, Scott Perry of Pennsylvania, Tim Burchett of Tennessee and Michael Cloud of Texas were the other Republicans on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee to break rank Wednesday afternoon.

Committee chair James Comer (R-Ky.) attempted to stave off the subpoena effort, saying Bondi’s chief of staff had told him the attorney general would be available to give member-level briefings around her department’s approach to the Epstein case.

But critics in both parties have accused Bondi of slow-walking the release of the Epstein files. It was her announcement that the DOJ would not make further information available in the Epstein matter that sparked outrage last summer, culminating in a vote by an Oversight subcommittee to force her hand.

In November, Congress passed legislation further demanding all materials in DOJ’s possession relating to the convicted sex offender be released. After a delay in publication of documents by the statutory deadline, the department announced earlier this year that it would be withholding millions of additional pages.

“We’re gonna be talking about real, substantive issues, like the 65,000 documents that are being hidden by the DOJ right now,” Mace told reporters Wednesday after the vote.

Congress

House rejects Nancy Mace’s push for sexual harassment disclosure

Published

2 hours ago

March 4, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

The House effectively bottled up an attempt to force the release of sexual harassment claims against lawmakers after bipartisan leaders of the House Ethics Committee publicly condemned the effort led by Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.).

Ethics Committee Chair Michael Guest (R-Miss.) and ranking member Mark DeSaulnier (D-Calif.) said in a joint statement that the effort would “chill” victims’ and witnesses’ cooperation.

Her resolution would also have forced the Ethics panel to share its records on cases where a lawmaker had a relationship with a subordinate — as Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-Texas) faces a probe over allegations that he had a romantic relationship with one of his staffers.

“Victims may be retraumatized by public disclosures of interim work product, excerpts of interview transcripts, and certain exhibits,” the two Ethics leaders said. “And witnesses, who often only speak to the Committee confidentially or on condition of future anonymity, could fear retaliation if their cooperation is made public.”

The House voted 357-65 to refer the resolution to the Ethics Committee, where it is almost certain to die given the top leaders’ opposition. House GOP leaders had also privately urged members to oppose Mace’s campaign.

“It’s shameful,” Mace said in an interview after the vote. She separately posted to X, “Both parties colluded today to protect predators. … The establishment always protects itself, never the victims.”

Separately, Mace is forcing a vote in a House Oversight and Government Reform Committee hearing Wednesday to subpoena settlements between lawmakers and those who accused them of sexual misconduct.

Meredith Lee Hill contributed to this report.

Congress

‘Substantial reason to believe’ Tony Gonzales had sex with his staffer, House probe finds

Published

2 hours ago

March 4, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

Congressional investigators have found “a substantial reason to believe” that Rep. Tony Gonzales had a sexual relationship with a subordinate — an apparent violation of House rules.

Blue Light News exclusively reviewed the report made by the nonpartisan Office of Congressional Conduct and delivered Wednesday to the House Ethics Committee, which has separately announced it is investigating the matter. The board of the OCC— an independent investigative body of the House — recommended in a 6-0 decision that the Ethics panel, which handles member disciplinary matters, further examine the allegations against Gonzales, a Texas Republican.

The OCC report and announcement from the Ethics Committee comes as Gonzales faces a 12-week runoff campaign to keep the Republican nomination for the south Texas seat he has held for three terms. He narrowly trails challenger Brandon Herrera in the latest returns from Tuesday’s election but neither candidate is on track to win an outright majority, setting up a May 23 runoff.

Gonzales has denied wrongdoing and resisted calls from within his own party to resign as details of his relationship with the former staffer, Regina Santos-Aviles, continue to emerge. She died by suicide after setting herself on fire in 2025.

Responding to the Ethics Committee announcement Wednesday, Gonzales said, “I welcome the opportunity to present all the facts to the committee. His office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the OCC finding.

Tom Rust, staff director for the House Ethics Committee, declined comment, as did William Beaman, a spokesperson for OCC.

The OCC investigation found “a substantial reason to believe that Rep. Gonzales engaged in a sexual relationship with an employee of the House of Representatives who was working under his supervision,” according to the report viewed by Blue Light News.

In one exchange with a fellow staffer, known as Witness 1, Santos-Aviles texted: “I had an affair with our boss and I’m fine. You will be fine.” The staffer, in an interview with the OCC, described personal conversations with Santos-Aviles wherein she described text messages with Gonzales that “were sexual in nature, that were romantic in nature.”

In another part of the report, a screenshot of a message that was originally sent by Santos-Aviles’ husband to another Gonzales staffer said, “Just a heads up this is [Santos-Aviles’] soon to be ex husband I just wanted to inform all of you that we will be getting divorced after my discovery of text messages and pictures, that she’s been having an affair with your boss Tony Gonzales for some time now. Feel free to reach out if you want more of an explanation.”

While the OCC can’t issue disciplinary actions, its investigative reports have served as roadmaps for the Ethics Committee, which conducts its own probes. In opening its own inquiry Wednesday, the panel said it would examine allegations that Gonzales “engaged in sexual misconduct towards an individual employed in his congressional office” and “discriminated unfairly by dispensing special favors or privileges.”

Speaker Mike Johnson, navigating a tight GOP majority, said last week that he wanted to see how the election played out and that Gonzales was entitled to due process. While the findings from the OCC are significant, it could take months or years for the Ethics Committee to finish its own report and recommend any discipline.

Johnson told reporters after the Ethics Committee announcement that he would let the process “play out.” A spokesperson, Taylor Haulsee, did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the OCC finding.

Gonzales, who is married with children, is alleged to have pursued a sexual relationship with Santos-Aviles and tried to coerce her into sending explicit photos, according to text messages published by the San Antonio Express-News and other publications, some of which are referenced in the OCC report. Blue Light News has not independently reviewed the messages.

House rules prohibit members, such as Gonzales, from having “a sexual relationship” or engaging in “unwelcome sexual advances” with their staffers.

The Ethics Committee’s deliberations are usually shrouded in secrecy, and it sometimes takes years to deliver any sort of conclusion. Allegations that Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) accepted improper gifts relating to the 2021 Met Gala, for instance, were not ruled upon until 2025, when she was instructed to repay the fair market value of the ticket of her guest, her designer gown and other gifts associated with the event.

Similarly, the Ethics panel took several years to issue a report on a 2020 stock trade made by the wife of Rep. Mike Kelly (R-Pa.) that was alleged to have been done using nonpublic information. Kelly was scolded in 2025 by the committee for not fully cooperating with the investigation with a strongly worded letter of disapproval and Kelly and his wife were advised by the committee to divest of any stock holdings in Cleveland-Cliffs, the company at issue.

In the Gonzales investigation, three witnesses, identified only as Witness 1, 2, and 3, were interviewed by OCC for the inquiry. Blue Light News was unable to identify and independently interview the witnesses.

Gonzales, his Chief of Staff Cesar Prieto, and two other staffers, Brittney Smith and Alfredo Arellano III, all refused to cooperate with OCC, according to the report. The office recommended that the House Ethics Committee subpoena them.

Prieto and Smith did not immediately respond to a request for comment. An attempt to reach Arellano on LinkedIn was unsucessful.

Meredith Lee Hill contributed to this report.