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Senate Republicans are still seeking reassurances from the White House on guardrails for President Donald Trump’s $1.8 billion fund to compensate people allegedly victimized by the government — and they can’t advance their immigration enforcement bill without an answer, people familiar with the matter told Semafor.
The easiest path forward for the bill is to return to the narrow approach that Senate Majority Leader John Thune started out with: solely funding ICE and Border Patrol through Trump’s presidency. “I would hope that we can … take care of our law enforcement. That was our focus, it remains our focus,” Sen. Deb Fischer, R-Neb., told Semafor on Thursday.
Trump’s so-called anti-weaponization fund “caught a lot of us off-guard,” she added.
Republicans want to pass the bill as quickly as possible, but the party-line bill’s exposure to anti-weaponization fund amendments is clouding its path in both chambers.
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Before the recess, Senate Republicans pressed acting Attorney General Todd Blanche to agree to restrictions on where the fund’s taxpayer money could go — such as barring people who had assaulted police officers and committed other violent offenses during 2021’s Capitol riot.
But Blanche did not agree to those terms and has not provided congressional Republicans with additional guidance yet, according to the people familiar with the matter. If his answers ultimately satisfy Republicans and discourage them from backing Democratic amendments, it could unstick the bill, which can pass the Senate with a simple majority.
A White House official said: “The administration appreciated last week’s conversation and feedback. We look forward to additional conversations as needed.”
The White House’s attempt to add security funding for Trump’s ballroom-centered East Wing renovation also complicated the immigration bill, leading to extra time litigating it this month. By the time the bill got to the Senate floor, DOJ had announced the anti-weaponization fund, exposing the legislation to unlimited Democratic amendments restricting it, some of which could have passed.
Trump has made clear he doesn’t want Congress to force limits on the potential compensation of political allies. But until the administration proactively lays out who is and isn’t eligible for the fund, the immigration bill may remain stalled.