March 12, 2026
Mr. Schiff (for himself, Ms. Hirono, Mr. Durbin, and Ms. Duckworth) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary
To require the Attorney General to recover certain payments made to the President.
Section 1. Short title
This Act may be cited as the Corruption Clawback Act
.
Sec. 2. Definition
In this Act, the term covered payment means any portion of any monetary settlement, administrative award, including an award made under section 2672 of title 28, United States Code, or a court-ordered judgment—
(1)
paid from the United States Treasury or in accordance with section 1304 of title 31, United States Code;
(2)
paid to an individual when they served as President;
(3)
that would not have been paid but for the individual holding the status, authority, or duties associated with their position as President; and
(4)
relating to an administrative claim filed or settlement reached on or after January 20, 2025.
Sec. 3. Recovery of payments made to the President
(a) In general
The Attorney General shall bring a civil action in the United States Court of Federal Claims or the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit to recover any covered payment.
(b) Considerations
In determining whether a payment described in section 2 would not have been made but for the individual holding the status, authority, or duties associated with their position as President, the court should consider—
(1)
whether the officials who authorized or negotiated the covered payment on behalf of the Government were appointed by, or previously served as personal counsel to, the President;
(2)
whether the amount of the covered payment exceeds typical payouts for similar claims by private citizens; and
(3)
whether the settlement bypassed standard legal defenses (such as statutes of limitations or sovereign immunity) that career Government lawyers would typically assert.
(c) Use of recovered payments
Any covered payment that is recovered under this section shall be used by the Public Integrity Section of the Criminal Division of the Department of Justice.
Sec. 4. Report
Not later than 180 days after the date on which a covered payment that is greater than $1,000,000 is made, the Comptroller General shall submit to Congress a report that includes the considerations described in section 3(b).