House votes 426–0 to repeal Senate ‘Arctic Frost’ provision

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The U.S. House voted 426–0 on Wednesday to repeal the provision in last week’s shutdown-ending spending package that allows certain senators to sue the federal government over Justice Department subpoenas issued during the Arctic Frost investigation.

The repeal measure, H.R. 6019, was considered under suspension of the rules and cleared the chamber with unanimous bipartisan support. Three Republicans and four Democrats did not vote. The bill removes Section 213 from the funding law and declares the language to have “no force or effect,” eliminating the Senate-only notification system and the potential for taxpayer-funded payouts of up to $500,000 per violation.

Rep. John Rose of Tennessee, one of the early co-sponsors of the repeal, has spent the past week urging House leadership to unwind the provision. Rose has argued that the original language created a special legal remedy for elected officials while offering no similar relief for ordinary Americans who have been subject to federal investigations.

In posts on X ahead of the vote, Rose criticized the provision as a “money grab” added to the shutdown agreement without proper disclosure. “A reminder that the American people didn’t spy on these ten senators, Biden’s DOJ did,” he wrote earlier Wednesday as the House prepared to vote.

House Republicans had voiced frustration over how the language was included in the spending package, saying they received no advance notice before voting to reopen the government after a 42-day shutdown. Speaker Mike Johnson committed to a repeal vote following the backlash, saying the House would act quickly to address the issue.

The vote also underscored how politically sensitive the provision has become in both parties. According to the House roll call, all 216 Republicans and all 210 Democrats who voted supported the repeal. All eight voting members of Tennessee’s House delegation — including Rose and Reps. Tim Burchett, Scott DesJarlais, Chuck Fleischmann, Diana Harshbarger, Andy Ogles, David Kustoff and Democrat Steve Cohen — backed the bill.

The measure now moves to the Senate, where its prospects remain uncertain. Senate Republican Leader John Thune has defended the original provision as a remedy for what he and others describe as excessive investigative tactics during the Biden administration. Several Republican senators have already said they do not plan to sue under the law, but Senate leadership has not committed to taking up the House bill.