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CIVIC HERALD
HR 8968 · 119th Congress · HouseIn committee

No Presidential Self-Serving Lawsuits Act of 2026

In plain language: This bill prevents any sitting U.S. president from filing a civil lawsuit against the federal government. It also prohibits the government from using federal funds or setting up special compensation accounts to settle lawsuits brought by current or former presidents. Finally, it voids a specific settlement in a lawsuit between Donald Trump and the IRS, requiring the Treasury Department to claw back any public funds already paid out under that agreement.

Provisional — our plain-language summary, pending review.

  1. May 21, 2026Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.
  2. May 21, 2026Introduced in House
  3. May 21, 2026Introduced in House
Provisionalunreviewed: impact, provisions, stakeholders, summary
People affected—The text applies to sitting and former U.S. Presidents (and specifically references one individual), but it does not provide a specific count of the individuals affected.
Fiscal magnitude—The text prohibits the use of federal funds for a specific settlement (Trump v. Internal Revenue Service) and bans certain compensation funds, but it does not state the specific dollar amount of the settlement or any explicit appropriation.
Reach30provisional — pending reviewrigor: heuristic llm
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What it does

The provisions, in plain language.

  1. Prohibits a sitting President from filing a civil lawsuit against the United States government.

    Sec. 2(a)provisional

  2. Cancels and voids the settlement agreement in the civil lawsuit Trump v. Internal Revenue Service.

    Sec. 2(b)provisional

  3. Bans the creation of compensation funds to settle lawsuits brought against the U.S. by a President or former President, and prohibits using federal money for the Trump v. Internal Revenue Service settlement.

    Sec. 3(a)provisional

  4. Authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury to take action to recover any federal funds spent in violation of these settlement funding bans.

    Sec. 3(b)provisional

Who it affects

Who it helps · who it burdens.

Who it helps

  • federal governmentGains protection from being sued in civil court by a sitting President, and is spared from paying out federal funds for the Trump v. Internal Revenue Service settlement or other presidential compensation funds (Sec. 2(a), Sec. 3(a)).provisional

Who it burdens

  • sitting PresidentsProhibited from filing any civil lawsuits against the United States government while in office (Sec. 2(a)).provisional
  • former PresidentsBanned from having federal compensation funds established to settle civil lawsuits they bring against the United States (Sec. 3(a)).provisional
  • Secretary of the TreasuryGiven the responsibility and authority to take legal or administrative action to recover any federal funds spent in violation of the settlement funding bans (Sec. 3(b)).provisional

Who opposes it

  • Donald J. TrumpDirectly loses the benefits of his settlement agreement in Trump v. Internal Revenue Service, which the bill voids and blocks from receiving any federal funding (Sec. 2(b), Sec. 3(a)).provisional

Dollar-level funding (FEC sector totals) — coming in a later phase.

The original text

Read it for yourself.

Read the original text →
829 characters of primary source text.

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