Congress

A provision in a spending package would allow U.S. senators who were directly targeted by the U.S. Department of Justice to sue the federal government for up to $500,000.

The provision would require that U.S. senators be notified if the U.S. Department of Justice requests their information, including via subpoenas of phone records.

The provision was written to apply prospectively as well as retroactively to provide protection for U.S. senators against Department of Justice investigative actions.

In the U.S. House of Representatives, a privileged motion allows a member to bypass party leadership and force a floor vote on a matter.

Censure is a formal disciplinary measure in the U.S. House of Representatives used to publicly rebuke a member for conduct deemed to reflect discredit upon the House.

The House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence oversees U.S. intelligence entities such as the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and regularly receives classified briefings on matters of national security.

The United States Virgin Islands is represented in the U.S. House of Representatives by a non-voting delegate.

The U.S. House of Representatives can adopt resolutions to censure members and to remove members from committee assignments.

A 2025 NPR/PBS News/Marist poll found that when respondents were asked whom they would vote for in the 2026 midterm elections if held at the time of the survey, Democratic candidates led Republican candidates by 14 percentage points.

A 2025 NPR/PBS News/Marist poll found that respondents reported little to no confidence in major U.S. institutions including Congress, the media, political parties, the Supreme Court, and the presidency.

A 2025 NPR/PBS News/Marist poll found that President Donald Trump’s approval rating reached a new low 10 months into his second term.

The U.S. House of Representatives has formal disciplinary options for its members, including reprimand, to address member conduct.

The House Ethics Committee is an institutional body tasked with investigating and addressing ethical violations and misconduct by members of the U.S. House of Representatives.

Political dynamics within party caucuses and among party leaders can influence whether the U.S. House takes up or adopts disciplinary measures against individual members.

Under U.S. House of Representatives rules, a privileged resolution requires chamber leaders to schedule consideration and a chamber-wide vote within two legislative days.

The U.S. House Ethics Committee's scope of investigation includes failure to properly disclose required information, violations of campaign finance laws, solicitation or receipt of improper gifts, receiving special favors, and allegations of sexual misconduct.

The U.S. House Ethics Committee can establish investigative subcommittees to examine allegations against members of Congress.

U.S. House Ethics Committee investigations can take months or even years to complete.

U.S. House Ethics Committee investigations can involve subpoenaing thousands of documents and interviewing hundreds of witnesses.

In the U.S. House of Representatives, members can use a discharge petition to force consideration of a bill on the floor if they gather signatures from a simple majority of members (218 signatures).

The Epstein Files Transparency Act is a proposed bill that would require the U.S. Department of Justice to release files related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

Congress can enact legislation that compels the U.S. Department of Justice to release its files on a specified subject within a statutory deadline, such as requiring release within 30 days.

The President of the United States can direct executive branch agencies to release or approve the release of agency-held files without new legislation, subject to applicable legal constraints.

A proposed U.S. House bill would require the Attorney General to publicly release all unclassified records, documents, communications, and investigative materials in the possession of the Department of Justice, the FBI, and U.S. attorneys' offices related to Jeffrey Epstein and his associates within 30 days of the bill becoming law, and would explicitly include investigative and prosecutorial materials, flight logs, travel records, materials about detention and death, names of individuals and entities referenced, internal Justice Department communications, and records concerning destruction, deletion, alteration, misplacement, or concealment of documents or electronic data.

Section 2 of the U.S. Voting Rights Act prohibits racial discrimination in the drawing of political districts (redistricting).

The U.S. House of Representatives has 435 voting members, so a simple majority for most floor actions is 218 votes.

A discharge petition is a procedural device in the U.S. House of Representatives that can be used to bring a bill to the floor for consideration if it secures signatures from a majority of House members (218 of 435).

The House Oversight Committee is a congressional committee with authority to conduct investigations and to obtain and release documents as part of its oversight responsibilities.

Proposed legislation can authorize the Department of Defense (the Pentagon) to revoke security clearances of former defense officials who lobby on behalf of companies substantially owned or controlled by designated adversary governments.

Proposed legislation can impose lifetime bans on Senate-confirmed federal officials from lobbying on behalf of designated adversary governments such as China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea.

Proposed reforms to the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) can eliminate the 'commercial' exemption and the Lobbying Disclosure Act (LDA) exemptions for entities tied to countries of concern, thereby requiring entities representing or advocating for companies substantially owned or controlled by adversary governments to register publicly as foreign agents.

Proposed legislative changes can expand the U.S. Department of Justice's enforcement authority to pursue unregistered foreign influence and lobbying campaigns.

Under the U.S. federal legislative process, if the Senate amends a bill that originated in the House, the amended bill must return to the House for further consideration and a vote.

As of 2025-11-12, Mike Johnson is the Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives and a Republican representing Louisiana.

As of 2025-11-12, Thomas Massie is a U.S. Representative from Kentucky and has been described as a frequent critic of Mike Johnson and President Donald Trump.

As of 2025-11-12, Ro Khanna is a U.S. Representative from California.

Elected members of one chamber of a bicameral legislature sometimes publicly call for the resignation of leaders in the other chamber, including leaders from the same political party.

For a bill to become law in the United States, both the House of Representatives and the Senate must pass the same legislation and the president must sign it (or a presidential veto must be overridden).

Charles Schumer is the United States Senate Minority Leader representing New York and is a member of the Democratic Party.

John Thune is the United States Senate Majority Leader representing South Dakota and is a member of the Republican Party.

Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), and Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) are members of the United States House of Representatives.

The U.S. Senate filibuster requires a 60-vote threshold to invoke cloture and end debate on most matters in order to advance legislation to a final vote.

The filibuster's 60-vote threshold functions as a procedural hurdle that enables a Senate minority to block or delay legislation, serving as a check on the majority party's power.

The term 'nuclear option' refers to the parliamentary maneuver of changing Senate rules to eliminate the filibuster's 60-vote cloture requirement.

Lawmakers who win special elections to the U.S. House of Representatives generally take the oath of office on days when the House is conducting legislative business.

The chairman of the U.S. House Committee on Natural Resources plays a significant role in shaping national environmental policy.

Members of the U.S. House of Representatives who are sworn in after winning special elections are customarily welcomed with applause and often give a short speech while family and friends observe.

Pro forma sessions of the U.S. House of Representatives are brief meetings during which no substantive legislative business is conducted and typically include only a prayer and the Pledge of Allegiance.

A discharge petition in the U.S. House of Representatives requires 218 signatures to force a floor vote on a measure.

Members of the U.S. House of Representatives can be sworn into office while the House is in recess.

A provision titled 'Requiring Senate Notification for Senate Data' inserted into a Legislative Branch appropriations bill would authorize U.S. senators directly targeted in Special Counsel Jack Smith's 'Arctic Frost' investigation to sue the U.S. federal government for up to $500,000 in damages.

The United States Congress can pass legislation that would require the Department of Justice to release files related to a federal investigation.

A law enacted as part of a legislative-branch funding measure grants any U.S. senator whose Senate data or a Senate office's data was acquired, subpoenaed, searched, accessed, or disclosed in violation of the law a private civil action against the United States when the violation was committed by an officer, employee, or agent of the United States or of any federal department or agency.

The law requires service providers to notify U.S. senators if their phone records or other data are seized or subpoenaed, and a court cannot delay that notification unless the senator is the target of a criminal investigation.

The law entitles any U.S. senator to statutory damages of $500,000 for each violation of the law's data-notification and access protections.

The law is retroactive to 2022, allowing violations dating from 2022 onward to form the basis for civil actions by U.S. senators under the statute.

In the 2018 U.S. midterm elections, Democratic candidates won approximately 40 House seats.

In the 2018 U.S. midterm elections, the Democratic Party gained 40 seats in the House of Representatives.

Independent U.S. senators can caucus with a political party; for example, Angus King of Maine caucuses with Senate Democrats.

Legislation addressing a federal government shutdown can include provisions that guarantee back pay to federal employees who were not paid during the shutdown.

Congressional appropriations are commonly structured as separate funding bills that can cover areas such as military construction and the Department of Veterans Affairs; the Department of Agriculture and the Food and Drug Administration; and operations of the legislative branch.

The U.S. Congress can vote on and pass legislation that would compel the Department of Justice to release specified agency records or files.

The House Freedom Caucus is a conservative caucus within the U.S. House of Representatives.

Arctic Frost is the code name used for ex-Special Counsel Jack Smith's investigation into President Donald Trump and the 2020 election.

Congress has the authority to pass legislation that requires federal agencies, including the U.S. Department of Justice, to disclose investigatory files or other records.

A privileged resolution in the United States House of Representatives must be placed on the House floor for consideration within two legislative days.

The United States House of Representatives includes nonvoting delegates who represent U.S. territories such as the United States Virgin Islands.

The United States House of Representatives can discipline members by adopting a censure resolution and can alter members' committee assignments, including removing members from committees.

Members of the U.S. House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence receive broader access to classified information than the average member of the U.S. House of Representatives.

The U.S. Senate uses a 'hotline process' in which proposed legislation is circulated among lawmakers for consideration before it is placed on the floor for a vote.

The U.S. Congress can include federal preemption language in federal legislation (for example, an annual appropriations or authorization bill) to block state-level AI rules and create a single federal regulatory standard for AI.

A privileged motion in the U.S. House of Representatives allows a member to call up certain measures directly for consideration on the floor and can be used to force a vote without approval from party leadership.

Censure is a formal disciplinary resolution used by the U.S. House of Representatives to publicly condemn a member's conduct.

The U.S. House of Representatives can remove a member from a committee by adopting a resolution that directs the member's removal from that committee.

Congressional committees can refer individuals they investigate to the Department of Justice for potential criminal prosecution, and the Department of Justice is not legally required to pursue prosecution based on those referrals.

A witness questioned by a congressional committee may invoke the Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination to decline to answer questions during a deposition or hearing.

The U.S. Congress can refer individuals or investigative targets to the U.S. Department of Justice for criminal prosecution, and the Department of Justice is not legally obligated to pursue charges in response to such referrals.

The U.S. Congress has the authority to hold individuals in contempt of Congress for refusing to comply with subpoenas or refusing to testify before congressional committees.

The U.S. House of Representatives can censure a member and remove that member from committee assignments through a floor vote.

Members of one party in the U.S. House have used or threatened censure and committee-removal measures as retaliatory tactics against disciplinary efforts by the opposing party.

A legislative provision would permit only U.S. senators who were directly targeted by Department of Justice requests for their information to sue the U.S. government for monetary damages up to $500,000.

In the U.S. House of Representatives, a resolution introduced as privileged requires House leadership to schedule a floor vote within two legislative days.

The United States House Ethics Committee is responsible for investigating allegations of misconduct by House members, including potential campaign finance violations and sexual misconduct.

A U.S. law can compel the U.S. Department of Justice and the Attorney General to produce case files and internal communications from federal investigations.

The United States Capitol Police and the House Sergeant at Arms are official agencies responsible for providing security and protective services for Members of the U.S. House of Representatives and their families.

The provision titled 'Requiring Senate Notification for Senate Data' authorizes a senator to bring a lawsuit against the federal government seeking monetary damages of $500,000.

The 'Requiring Senate Notification for Senate Data' provision is retroactive in nature.

The stated purpose of the 'Requiring Senate Notification for Senate Data' provision is to deter the Department of Justice from subpoenaing senators' records without first notifying those senators.