Senate Republicans are postponing consideration of their filibuster-proof immigration enforcement funding bill until June after it got snagged in a political debate over the Trump administration’s $1.8 billion Anti-Weaponization Fund.
The bill includes $1.5 billion in funding for the Department of Justice, which creates a jurisdictional lane for Democrats to offer amendments targeting the Anti-Weaponization Fund at a simple-majority threshold.
Those amendments would likely draw enough GOP support to be adopted and could derail the entire bill.
Republicans want to develop their own proposal to address concerns about the fund rather than let Democrats dictate the legislative solution.
But they could not reach consensus Thursday on a solution.
They plan to work on the matter over the recess and could add a provision to the filibuster-proof budget reconciliation package.
The Anti-Weaponization Fund was established as part of a settlement Mr. Trump reached with the Justice Department after he sued the IRS for $10 billion over the unauthorized leak of his tax returns during his first term.
The goal of the fund is to provide settlement payments to people who have legitimate claims of overzealous prosecution or other government weaponization.
Mr. Trump has said he wants to help other Republicans who were targeted by the Biden administration, but the fund is technically open to anyone from either party with a weaponization claim.
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche met with Senate Republicans at the Capitol on Thursday to answer their questions about the fund.
“Obviously, our members have very legitimate questions about it,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune, South Dakota Republican, told reporters ahead of the meeting.
He said Republicans need to discuss “how we might make sure that it’s fenced in appropriately.”
