A hemp plant with the flower and inflorescence grows on a 15-acre farm of former Lexington, Kentucky, mayor and congressman Scott Baesler.
Melissa Emrey-Arras, the director of education, workforce, and income security issues at the GAO speaks during a hearing on issues affecting FAFSA applicants at the U.S. Capitol on Sept. 24, 2024.

WASHINGTON – Several eyebrow-raising proposals are tucked into the bills that are on track to end the longest-ever U.S. government shutdown.

While most of lawmakers' attention has centered in recent days around measures to reverse thousands of federal employee layoffs, restart critical services and generally turn the government's lights back on, a handful of smaller provisions in the giant funding package jump out for what else could soon become law with President Donald Trump's signature.

Some of the measures are bipartisan; others much less so. And while none are likely to fully derail the fast-moving legislation that is expected to pass the House on Wednesday, a few of them could present political problems.

A jab at Jack Smith

The most controversial of the measures in the funding package allows a group of Republican senators to sue the government for up to $500,000.

At issue is former special counsel Jack Smith's investigation into allegations of election interference after the 2020 presidential race. As part of that probe into the actions of President Donald Trump, Smith subpoenaed the phone records of more than half a dozen GOP lawmakers.

While none of those lawmakers were charged, they were enraged to recently discover their communications were part of the evidence-gathering. The legislation includes a provision waiving the government's immunity from lawsuits over the subpoenas.

New cannabis regulation

Another component of the shutdown deal closes a loophole that for years has allowed the unregulated sale of certain hemp products nationwide.

Hemp and marijuana are derived from the same plant, cannabis, but hemp contains lower amounts of THC, the compound that makes people high. The 2018 farm bill included a workaround that allowed THC products derived from hemp to be sold nationwide. Since then, sales have boomed.

Sen. Rand Paul, R-Kentucky, argued on the Senate floor Monday that the new regulations included in the shutdown-ending funding package would be akin to "prohibition."

Senators split unevenly across party lines for and against the measure. Ultimately the new rule was kept in the bill. The regulations will take effect in 2026.

Bolstered security for Congress after Kirk killing

In the wake of conservative commentator Charlie Kirk's assassination, lawmakers have been increasingly worried about safety for themselves, their families and staff. As recently as last week, a man who'd threatened to kill a member of Congress was arrested before entering a Senate building.

The funding package expected to pass this week includes $203.5 million to boost security for lawmakers "in response to the evolving threat environment." To protect lawmakers in their home districts, $30 million will go toward reimbursing state and local law enforcement agencies for their assistance.

Protections for a Trump watchdog

The shutdown deal also retains full funding for the Government Accountability Office, a federal watchdog that has played a key oversight role of both Republicans and Democrats in Washington for decades.

For months, the White House and some congressional Republicans have sought to weaken the agency that has repeatedly found Trump's second-term administration acting in violation of federal laws.

Contributing: Bart Jansen, USA TODAY

Zachary Schermele is a congressional reporter for USA TODAY. You can reach him by email at zschermele@usatoday.com. Follow him on X at @ZachSchermele and Bluesky at @zachschermele.bsky.social.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Inside the details of the shutdown deal, from new cannabis rules to a Jack Smith jab

Reporting by Zachary Schermele, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

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