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Senators could vote on a bill as soon as today to allow members of Congress and their staff to demand that websites take down information about their houses and details about their travel.
Watchdogs and media advocates have objected to the member security legislation and similar measures in the past, arguing the provisions would block reporters from doing their jobs and prevent necessary accountability.
The legislation was introduced by Sens. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) and Ted Cruz (R-Texas). Republican and Democratic congressional leaders are fast-tracking the bill, according to an internal Senate communication transmitted Wednesday. The vote could be held imminently. It would be held by unanimous consent, meaning any one senator present can block the bill if they choose.
Cruz, of course, has faced two embarrassing travel-related episodes in recent years. First, he traveled to Cancún, Mexico, as Texas faced severe winter storms and power outages in 2021. Cruz was slammed for the trip, which he later called a “mistake.” Earlier this month, Cruz was spotted vacationing in Greece as Texans grappled with deadly floods.
In 2023, Klobuchar and Cruz attempted unsuccessfully to attach the member security measure to the annual must-pass defense authorization bill.
The legislation comes as political violence and threats against lawmakers have become increasingly commonplace. On Tuesday, for instance, federal agents arrested and charged an Ohio man with threatening to kill a member of Congress. Days earlier, a supporter of President Donald Trump was arrested and charged with threatening Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.). The U.S. Capitol Police’s 2024 threat assessment report noted that the agency investigated nearly 9,500 concerning statements against members of Congress. The number was less than 4,000 in 2017, and has been steadily rising ever since.
The most heinous act of political violence in recent memory came last month, when Melissa Hortman, a progressive leader in the Minnesota Legislature, and her husband were killed at her home in what Gov. Tim Walz said appeared to be a “politically motivated assassination.” The assailant also shot state Sen. John Hoffman and his wife, who both survived, the same night.
Klobuchar was among the many Democratic officials included on a list compiled by the alleged Minnesota assassin. Last month, she cited those attacks to push for the legislation.
“This murderer, he went to the addresses that he knew. He had some names without addresses; he didn’t go there,” Klobuchar said last month. “Sen. Cruz and I have long advocated for some changes. I believe we have growing support for that.”
In 2022, Congress passed a similar law to shield the personal information of judges from public view, following a deadly attack on a judge’s family.
Watchdogs, however, argue the member security legislation is overly broad and would limit necessary transparency and efforts to hold lawmakers accountable. The Senate Appropriations Committee has separately reported out legislation that would provide additional protections for members of Congress as well as a funding boost for congressional security. That provision was set for a vote this week until Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) objected.
While the member security bill includes a carve-out for journalists reporting on matters of public concern, Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press and three dozen major media outlets previously spoke out against a similar version of the bill, arguing it would interfere with their jobs and raises “serious First Amendment concerns.”
“While we acknowledge language that attempts to limit its scope, the legislation, if passed, would pose a threat to lawful newsgathering and reporting about members of Congress and their families, and raise serious First Amendment concerns,” they wrote in a letter to senators in 2023.
They explained that, under the measure, “representatives, senators, and certain relations could still request that a news organization delete stories containing what they claim is covered information or file a lawsuit seeking injunctive or declaratory relief requiring that the news organization do so, arguing that the stories are not in the public interest or not of public concern.”
Daniel Schuman, executive director of the American Governance Institute, tells Rolling Stone the bill would give Congress new censorship powers.
“Members of Congress and congressional staff should be protected against violence,” says Schuman. “The Cruz-Klobuchar bill, however, would not provide them the protection they seek but would create a powerful new tool that would result in censorship of public discussion and press accountability for their actions. They should go back to the drawing board to write a bill that protects the privacy of all Americans without undermining accountability for public officials.”
