Republicans revolt over Trump’s $1.8 billion ‘anti-weaponization’ fund

By Ted Barrett, Manu Raju, CNN

(CNN) — The Trump administration’s push for a $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization” fund has derailed Senate Republicans’ plans to pass a major immigration enforcement package – a key priority of the president’s.

Senators left Washington for their Memorial Day recess with Republicans saying they were blindsided by the Justice Department’s announcement of the fund and at odds over how to rein it in.

The issue of the fund became so toxic for the Senate GOP that there were doubts they could muster 50 votes needed to pass the broader bill that would provide tens of billions of dollars to US Immigration and Customs Enforcement and border patrol. President Donald Trump had demanded the package land on his desk by June 1, but GOP lawmakers will now almost certainly miss that deadline.

Republicans’ departure is the latest example of the party’s quiet revolt against Trump, whose separate request for $1 billion in US Secret Service funding and East Wing ballroom security also seemed likely to be stripped from the package in part because of opposition from the conference.

The White House had put a full-court press on lawmakers in recent days, with administration officials making a series of appearances on Capitol Hill to sell Trump’s priorities.

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche was initially scheduled to go to Minnesota Thursday where he was expected to speak at a press conference about fraud, but instead trekked to the Capitol in an attempt to salvage the fund.

But he faced stiff resistance during the more than 90-minute private meeting, where several senators warned that the party’s major immigration enforcement bill could be derailed with the issue hanging over them, according to a person familiar with the matter. Hardly any members spoke up in the meeting to defend the fund that has become a political liability for the GOP.

“Our members have very legitimate questions about it, and we’ve had some conversations about if it’s going to be a feature going forward, what it might look like, and how we might make sure that it’s fenced in appropriately,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune said of the fund ahead of the meeting, which was first reported by Politico.

Sen. Susan Collins, the top Senate appropriator, told CNN that Blanche hadn’t convinced her to support the fund for individuals claiming they had been unfairly treated by past Justice Departments.

“I do not support the weaponization fund as it has been described,” Collins, who faces a tough reelection in November, said ahead of the meeting. “I do not believe individuals that were convicted of violence against police officers on Jan. 6 should be entitled to reimbursement of their legal fees.”

North Carolina Sen. Thom Tillis also threatened to vote against the party’s reconciliation bill if it included the fund, calling suggested changes to the broader immigration package “gimmicks that are coming in at the 11th hour.”

“Under what circumstances would it ever make sense to provide restitution for people who were either pled guilty or were found guilty in a court of law? You want to talk about maybe providing restitution for people who weren’t found guilty? Fine, but if you do this, why not for the poor, mostly peaceful prospect protesters in Kenosha, in Portland?” the outgoing senator said of the fund.

“I mean, my God, do you see where this would head? These people don’t deserve restitution; they, many of them deserve to be in prison. Some of them deserve the pardon because they were over prosecuted, but this is – I mean, this is just stupid on stilts.”

Before votes were abruptly canceled Thursday, Senate Democrats were planning to seize on the Republican dysfunction by preparing amendments to the package that would put their colleagues on the spot.

Earlier in the day, a fact sheet from the Justice Department outlining who could apply for compensation from the fund was circulating on Capitol Hill, as the department attempted to bill it as an accountability effort. The fact sheet, which was viewed by CNN, noted that senators whose records were subpoenaed by the Biden administration Justice Department could seek compensation.

But it appeared to do little to quell lawmakers’ concerns as they continued to suggest they would seek to add guardrails to the program.

House Speaker Mike Johnson was expected to travel to the White House to meet with the president, a source familiar with the matter told CNN, but the planned meeting was scrapped after it became clear the Senate would not act on the legislation before leaving town. The House also canceled its Friday votes given the Senate impasse.

The president was asked in the Oval Office earlier in the day whether he had lost control of Senate Republicans amid their resistance.

“I don’t know. I really don’t know. I can tell you, I only do what’s right,” he said.

This headline and story have been updated with additional developments.

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CNN’s Lauren Fox, Alison Main, Annie Grayer and Hannah Rabinowitz contributed to this report.