Senate Republicans are divided over whether to repeal language inserted in last week’s spending deal allowing senators to sue the Justice Department over metadata collection.
Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont., doubts a repeal would pass the Senate, calling the original provision “appropriate.”
But Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., thinks the upper chamber might have to deal with the issue after the House rolls it back as soon as today: “It certainly looks like it’s pretty unpopular.”
Even Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., whose metadata was swept up, called the Senate language “a bad idea.”
“There needs to be accountability for the Biden DOJ’s outrageous abuse of the separation of powers, but the right way to do that is through public hearings, tough oversight, including of the complicit telecomm companies, and prosecution where warranted,” Hawley said.
Senate Appropriations Chair Susan Collins, R-Maine, said she had nothing to do with it and that “what they came up with was a result of negotiations between” Senate Majority Leader John Thune and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer.
Schumer said Thune wanted it and now wants to repeal it — but Democrats “wanted to make sure that at least Democratic senators were protected from [Attorney General Pam] Bondi and others who might go after them.”