Bill shields sitting president and VP from paying legal judgments.
S. 4644 — Drain the Slush Fund Act · Filed by Adam Schiff (D-CA) · 2 cosponsors · Introduced Jun 1, 2026 · Referred to committee
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What it does
This bill bars the federal government from paying judgments, awards, or settlements in any lawsuit or claim filed by the President or Vice President. It applies retroactively to cases pending as of January 20, 2025, and any new claims filed after that date. The effect is to block federal funds from being used to satisfy legal judgments against the President or Vice President in their personal capacity.
Why we flagged it
The bill's operative mechanism is a narrow immunity grant: it carves out the President and Vice President from the normal federal settlement-payment process, creating a class of plaintiffs whose judgments cannot be satisfied from the federal treasury. This is a direct shield against accountability.
What the text implies
- Retroactive application to January 20, 2025 (the date of the current presidential inauguration) suggests the bill is designed to protect the sitting President and Vice President from pending litigation, not a neutral prospective rule.
- 31 U.S.C. § 1304 is the permanent indefinite appropriation that funds federal settlements in tort and contract cases. Carving out the President/VP from this mechanism creates a two-tier system: ordinary federal officials and agencies remain subject to judgment-payment obligations, but the President and VP do not.
- Citizens injured by presidential action (e.g., unlawful detention, civil rights violation, breach of contract) would have a judgment but no remedy — the federal government would be prohibited from paying it, effectively nullifying the judgment.
- The bill does not bar lawsuits against the President or VP, only the payment of judgments. This creates a hollow right: plaintiffs can sue and win, but cannot collect, leaving them bearing the cost of litigation with no recovery.
Section numbers refer to the bill text the analysis read — linked under Primary records below.
Who it affects
Citizens lose a critical accountability mechanism: the ability to recover damages from the federal government when the President or Vice President violates their rights or causes them harm through official action. This creates a de facto immunity for the sitting President and Vice President from monetary liability, undermining the rule of law and equal protection under law.
Named in the bill
President of the United States, Vice President of the United States, 31 U.S.C. § 1304, U.S. Department of Justice, Federal courts
Where it stands
2 cosponsors: 2 Democrats.
- Jun 1, 2026 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in Senate”
- Jun 1, 2026 — Referred to Senate Committee on the Judiciary · Congress.gov: “Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary”
Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.
How this was measured
Analysis — Quorum's AI read the bill text published by Congress.gov (570 characters) on Aug 18, 2026. Section numbers in the findings refer to that text, linked below; transparency and hidden-provision scores are compared against the median of 16,222 analysed bills.
Status and sponsors — Congress.gov's bill record — actions, committee referrals and cosponsors — loaded nightly. The timeline shows status changes, not every procedural action.
As of — page rendered 2026-10-20.
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