Senate Democrats are doing everything they can to kill President Donald Trump’s “anti-weaponization” fund, and Republicans may be keen on helping them.
The nearly $2 billion fund has drawn heavy criticism from both sides of the aisle since its announcement last month as part of the settlement between Trump and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). And Senate Republicans, already incensed over Trump’s decision to push out two popular members of the conference, strongly dislike the fund.
Though not the primary driver in Republicans’ disdain for the fund, Trump’s choice to get involved in Louisiana and Texas against the Senate GOP’s favored candidates — and incumbents — added fuel to their fury against the nearly $2 billion fund.
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That bubbling frustration played out last month, when the fund played a key part in blowing up the GOP’s push to advance billions in immigration enforcement spending. It was a combination of timing and lack of information that drove the GOP to press pause. Many were surprised about the “anti-weaponization” fund, and argued that the administration could have held off on announcing it just days before reconciliation was set to wrap up.
And as lawmakers return from a week-long break, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Democrats aren’t going to let the issue die quietly.
“This week, Senate Democrats will launch a coordinated effort to kill the slush fund before one cent goes out the door,” Schumer wrote in a letter to his colleagues. “And no matter what Republicans do, we will force them to vote.”
“If Republicans return to reconciliation, we will be ready with amendments to shut the fund down,” he continued. “If they try to bury the issue, we will force them to the Senate floor. If they try to sneak behind appropriations, we will fight them there too.”
The Senate is returning to pick up where lawmakers left off on budget reconciliation, the party-line process that the GOP is using to ram through $72 billion to fund Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Border Patrol for the next three and a half years.
Part of that process includes a “vote-a-rama,” where unlimited amendment votes happen.
Democrats already have several amendments in the works to curtail the fund, including one that would prevent those convicted of rape and sexual assault from gaining access to the taxpayer-funded pot of money.
And Republican leaders feared that many in the GOP would support those amendments. The relationship between Senate Republicans and Trump is not on its highest note, either, following the president’s decision to back successful primary challengers to Sens. Bill Cassidy, R-La., and John Cornyn, R-Texas.
But the dissent within the GOP against the Department of Justice (DOJ) fund is far broader than just two Republicans, with at least half the conference taking issue with it during a fiery closed-door meeting with acting Attorney General Todd Blanche.
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Several wanted to know what kind of action, if any, would be taken by the administration to put guardrails on the fund to prevent those convicted of assaulting police officers during the riots of Jan. 6, 2021, from gaining access to the money.
Many see this as an issue that Trump and the administration need to solve, especially with how close Republicans were to ramming the broader reconciliation package through.
But the DOJ has argued that they aren’t seeking reconciliation money for the fund, and that it’s an issue that has nothing to do with the process. However, Republicans see it differently, given that the Senate Judiciary Committee, which has oversight of the Justice Department, plays a significant role in the legislative package.
Schumer and Democrats, however, want to outright demolish the fund.
“There will be no escape hatch,” Schumer said. “No fake guardrails or backroom promises to hide behind. No Justice Department announcement that makes this corruption acceptable.”
“Republicans are scrambling for a way out — not to end the corruption, but to manage it,” he continued. “That will not be enough. You do not fix a corrupt slush fund by promising to manage it better. You end it.”