Democrats seek to bar presidents from collecting settlement money from the government

CongressDemocrats seek to bar presidents from collecting settlement money from the governmentLawmakers drafted the bill after President Donald Trump sued the IRS and the Treasury Department for $10 billion over a leak of his tax records to news outlets.Listen to this article with a free account00:0000:00Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., introduced legislation to bar presidents and vice presidents from receiving settlement money from the government.Evelyn Hockstein / ReutersShareAdd NBC News to GoogleApril 15, 2026, 6:00 AM EDTBy Megan LebowitzDemocratic lawmakers will introduce a bill Wednesday to ban the president, vice president and their families from collecting lawsuit settlement payments from the government.Subscribe to read this story ad-free Get unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content.The bill, dubbed the "Ban Presidential Plunder of Taxpayer Funds Act," comes after President Donald Trump sued the IRS and the Treasury Department for $10 billion over the leak of his tax records, and those of his sons and his company, to news outlets. Trump said he would donate any money he received to charity, but the lawsuit enraged critics who argued that any money he might receive from a settlement would come from taxpayers. Months earlier, Trump acknowledged he was seeking damages from the Justice Department, saying, "I guess they owe me a lot of money."Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York, Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland and Rep. David Min of California are introducing the bill in their respective chambers.The bill, shared with NBC News, would ban the president, the vice president, their spouses and children and any trust "that exists for their benefit" or "entity they own or control" from collecting payments as part of a settlement agreement, which parties sometimes reach in order to avoid going to court.Presidents and vice presidents could collect compens...