anti-weaponization fund – Senate Majority Leader John Thune said President Donald Trump should shut down a proposed $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization” fund after it sparked intense anger among Senate Republicans and stalled a $70 billion immigration enforcement funding effort. A federal
On a Monday where Senate leaders were trying to keep their immigration enforcement bill moving, John Thune signaled that the White House needs to end its fight over a separate $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization” fund.
Thune said the “best way to handle it” would be for “the administration [to] shut it down themselves. ” as pressure mounted inside the Senate GOP conference over the backlash to President Donald Trump’s push. His bluntness reflected a sour mood among Republican senators—many of whom have refused to advance the broader immigration enforcement funding agenda until they are satisfied the money won’t flow to people they say attacked police during the January 6. 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol.
The dispute isn’t just political. It is now tied to how federal money can move at all.
In a statement made Monday afternoon. the Justice Department said it will abide by a court ruling temporarily blocking the administration from moving forward on the fund. though it stopped short of committing to scrap it entirely. The pause—ordered by a federal judge in Virginia last week—bars the department from allocating money to create the fund. considering any claims. or distributing any money to applicants. A Justice Department spokesperson said the department “disagrees strongly” with the judge’s ruling but “will abide.”.
For Senate Republicans, the fund has become the point where trust inside the coalition has started to break.
Thune’s comments came as dozens of Republican senators have refused to go along with the $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization” fund. Critics say it would seek to enrich MAGA loyalists, including people convicted of rioting at the Capitol on January 6, 2021. Many Republicans remain furious and insist they will not advance a separate bill to fund immigration enforcement until they believe payouts won’t go to those who assaulted police during the attack and that additional “guardrails” are in place.
Even so. the White House has not offered a serious solution that satisfies the lawmakers who are now blocking progress. according to two Republican aides. The standoff has further eroded the bond between the administration and Senate Republicans. That damage runs alongside other resentments inside the conference. including anger that Trump targeted two popular GOP senators who recently lost their primaries for reelection. and frustrations over money Trump has demanded for security of his desired White House ballroom—an expense some senators believe is out of touch with the economic pressures facing their voters.
Trump met with House Speaker Mike Johnson at the White House on Monday to discuss roadblocks to the bill to fund immigration enforcement—specifically the proposed “anti-weaponization” fund. Thune said he had not spoken with Johnson and also did not answer questions about whether he had spoken directly with Trump on the issue.
He said he was not aware whether the White House had formally decided to drop the weaponization fund. telling CNN. “I don’t think they’ve made any final announcements about that.” When asked whether the White House needed to drop it to allow the GOP’s multibillion-dollar immigration package to proceed. Thune responded: “I made my views very clear on the issue. ” adding. “I can’t speak for them.”.
Behind the scenes, some Trump advisers have discussed potential fixes—though nothing has yet changed publicly. People familiar with those discussions said some advisers privately advocated adding guardrails to the fund to appease Republican lawmakers and quell criticism. One suggestion discussed was restricting those convicted of assaulting police from accessing the fund. in an effort to prevent the most violent rioters from the Capitol attack from collecting taxpayer-funded payouts. Some allies are urging the White House to scrap the fund altogether. but Trump has publicly defended it and the administration has not settled on a clear path forward.
In the Senate, that uncertainty is sharpening the next fight.
At stake is the fate of $70 billion for Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol. which Senate leaders are attempting to pass in a budget process called reconciliation that allows them to adopt it on a party-line vote. Democrats are angry over tactics by agencies they believe are too aggressive.
Trump pressed for a June 1 deadline to pass the money through the end of his term. That deadline was missed after GOP senators were enraged by the Department of Justice announcement about the “anti-weaponization” fund. which the agency said was aimed at paying restitution to people targeted by the Biden administration. Critics have said it amounts to a slush fund to pay out Trump’s allies. Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky said at the time it was “utterly stupid, morally wrong.”.
The way the facts stack together is plain: a court has paused the fund’s implementation, Republicans are refusing to move forward on immigration money until they see credible constraints, and Democrats are planning to turn the split into a vote they can’t dodge.
Democrats have pledged to fight the fund on several fronts, including as part of the budget bill where they would be able to offer an unlimited number of amendments. They have said they will put Republicans—especially those up for reelection in November—on the record on the controversial policy.
In a Monday letter to his colleagues. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said: “This week. Senate Democrats will launch a coordinated effort to kill the slush fund before one cent goes out the door. And no matter what Republicans do, we will force them to vote.” He added: “There will be no escape hatch. No fake guardrails or backroom promises to hide behind. No Justice Department announcement that makes this corruption acceptable.”.
With the immigration agenda in limbo, the Senate is expected to take up nominations this week. Senators also hope to pass a three-year extension of a key national security program known as FISA Section 702. which expires in less than two weeks. That measure has bipartisan support and is expected to pass.
For now, though, the immediate question dominating Senate floor math is whether the “anti-weaponization” fight breaks the GOP agenda—or whether the administration finds a path that satisfies the lawmakers it has alienated.
John Thune Donald Trump anti-weaponization fund Justice Department court ruling Senate Republicans immigration enforcement funding Immigration and Customs Enforcement Border Patrol reconciliation Chuck Schumer FISA Section 702