Don’t Settle for Bribes Act of 2025

The Don’t Settle for Bribes Act of 2025 (H.R. 3776) would prevent a sitting President, the President-elect, or presidential candidates from initiating civil lawsuits, by requiring courts to stay any such actions within 90 days before a general presidential election. For those individuals, the stay lasts until the end of the President’s term (or, if a candidate is not elected, until the House ratifies the election results). The bill also tolls (pauses) the statute of limitations on stayed actions, which would resume once the term ends or election results are certified. The restriction extends to the President’s immediate family and to any business or entity in which the President or a family member is a grantor or beneficiary. The act clarifies that it does not bar the President’s right to access the courts in other contexts and does not limit an executive agency from bringing or defending suits involving the United States. The term “immediate family” is defined as the President’s spouse and any child. In short, the bill would shield the President, President-elect, and near-election presidential candidates (and certain family and business interests) from pursuing civil lawsuits during the presidential term or around an election, by staying those lawsuits and delaying any deadlines.