GOP stalls – Republican senators are preparing to leave Washington for a weeklong recess without passing a three-year plan to fund immigration enforcement, after some balked at tying the measure to President Trump’s $1.8 billion “Anti-Weaponization” fund—an issue that has
For now, the legislative clock is ticking—one week at a time.
Congress is set to leave town for a weeklong recess without passing a Republican-backed plan to fund immigration enforcement for the next three years. The funding is a top priority for President Trump. He told congressional Republicans he wanted additional funding approved by June 1.
But as that deadline loomed, Trump’s $1.8 billion “Anti-Weaponization” fund has become a sticking point. The money is meant to compensate people who say they have been targeted by the government. It isn’t included in the immigration enforcement measure. Still, several Senate Republicans pushed to address it before moving forward.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., spoke to reporters in the Capitol on May 19.
A number of Republican senators said they were blindsided by the announcement of the “Anti-Weaponization Fund,” and pointed to the way the fight has complicated what was otherwise close to a deal. The money has not been appropriated by Congress.
The clash traces back to how the White House ballroom security plan became a line-item argument. The ballroom was initially expected to be covered by private donations. After the shooting at the correspondents’ dinner. plans shifted to transform it into a secure facility. and costs have since soared to about a billion dollars. Trump wanted Congress to pay for its additional security.
Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana—who lost his primary this week—publicly denounced funding for the ballroom and criticized the anti-weaponization fund.
What makes the situation volatile inside the GOP is not only the policy dispute itself. but the timing and the way support has shifted. Senators were on the verge of passing the immigration enforcement funding. but some withdrew their support over concerns about the $1.8 billion fund and Trump’s White House ballroom plans.
The fallout is now widening beyond Capitol Hill. Two police officers who defended the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, have filed a federal lawsuit against the Trump administration. They argue that the “Anti-Weaponization Fund” is illegal and dangerous. and it is widely expected that some of the money would go to Jan. 6 insurrectionists.
As the recess approaches. the immediate question for lawmakers and voters is whether the June 1 demand can survive a fracture inside their own party—one that has moved from a technical disagreement over funding sources to a broader fight over what Congress is willing to put on the same legislative track.
GOP immigration enforcement funding Senate John Thune Bill Cassidy Anti-Weaponization Fund Trump Jan. 6 lawsuit Capitol police officers June 1 deadline