Congress
Capitol agenda: Trump fund angst keeps GOP agenda in limbo
Welcome back to the bad place.
After leaving town late last month for a one-week recess, House and Senate GOP leaders are returning to a slew of familiar problems threatening to leave their midterm-year agenda stalled in perennial limbo.
Republicans’ party-line immigration enforcement bill is stuck because of President Donald Trump’s $1.8 billion “Anti-Weaponization Fund” and there’s a mini-rebellion brewing over an Iran war powers resolution that, if adopted, would be politically embarrassing for the president (more on that below).
That’s to say nothing of the full-time task of managing internal GOP frustrations after a trio of incumbents fell to Trump-blessed challengers in the last two weeks.
And while there’s optimism about getting a deal to reauthorize a government spy authority before it expires June 12, there’s lingering cross-chamber divisions over a bipartisan housing bill, with the Senate eyeing changes to the latest House offer.
The biggest challenge for GOP leaders: The fate of their $72 billion immigration enforcement spending package. Senate Republicans delayed passage last month as a critical mass of their members were prepared to support Senate Democrats’ amendments to narrow or nix the Justice Department’s fund, which officials have said could be used to pay out individuals who attacked the Capitol Jan. 6, 2021.
That could have threatened the entire bill, either on Capitol Hill or with Trump, who has defended the pot of money to help those “badly abused by an evil, corrupt, and weaponized Biden Administration.”
Instead, Senate Republicans expect the administration to unveil modifications to the fund, according to three people granted anonymity to discuss the matter — if not announce they are nixing the account altogether. If the administration can quickly resolve the situation, Senate Republicans are prepared to kick off vote-a-rama as soon as Wednesday, according to a person with knowledge of the schedule.
And while it’s not impossible that Senate Republicans could propose their own guardrails if the administration refuses to play ball, that would come with its own political complications for GOP leaders. Another possible idea under discussion, according to two people with knowledge of the talks, is removing all of the Justice Department funding from the bill.
Moreover, Friday’s court ruling to temporarily block the fund from being tapped doesn’t change the calculus within the Senate GOP Conference, according to two people granted anonymity to describe internal party dynamics.
But so far, the White House and DOJ have been largely mum. A White House official told us late last week the administration “appreciated” last month’s conversation between GOP senators and acting Attorney General Todd Blanche and all the “feedback.”
“We look forward to additional conversations as needed,” the official added.
The Justice Department didn’t respond to a request for comment.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, meanwhile, is showing no signs of backing down, telling his caucus in a “Dear Colleague” letter this morning that they are launching “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.”
It’s also causing drama in the House, where a group of bipartisan lawmakers are vowing to “kill” the fund as others want a commitment that payouts won’t be made to people who assaulted police officers during the Capitol attack.
What else we’re watching:
— GOP HARD-LINERS WANT URGENCY ON TRANS BILLS: GOP hard-liners who promised voters they’d use their new majority in Washington to enact anti-trans legislation are increasingly frustrated their leaders don’t seem to share the same commitment. A record number of bills that would roll back access to health care, sports participation and military service for transgender individuals have been introduced over the last year and a half after Republicans spent tens of millions of dollars campaigning on the issue in 2024.
— PEACE PLAN LOOMS OVER WAR POWERS VOTES: Congress is set to weigh in on the Iran war again this week. The question is whether a developing peace plan to end the conflict will sway enough Republicans against handing Trump a political loss.
Connor O’Brien and Paul McLeary contributed to this report.
Senate Judiciary Chair Chuck Grassley rescheduled a planned vote on Todd Blanche’s nomination as attorney general late Friday in a preemptive move as negotiations between the Trump administration and GOP holdouts continue.
The vote, now set for Tuesday after a scheduled Thursday vote was postponed, isn’t an indication that a deal allowing for Blanche’s confirmation is near, so much as it is a nod to Judiciary Committee rules that require three days of notice for a panel meeting.
There is no sign that President Donald Trump is about to acquiesce to the unflinching demands of Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), who wants a controversial settlement agreement between Trump and the IRS substantially pared back.
Cornyn, who lost his primary to a Trump-endorsed candidate, wants the Justice Department to nullify a $1.8 billion “Anti-Weaponization Fund” and limit the scope of a tax audit immunity component of the pact.
Trump told reporters earlier Friday the fund is “dead” but added “I wish it weren’t.”
“I’d like to see them compensated,” he added, referring to people he considers victims of government abuse, including participants in the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol attack.
To advance Tuesday, Blanche needs to pick up Cornyn and Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), another senator on the panel with similar concerns. He can’t lose any GOP votes if he wants to be reported favorably out of the Judiciary Committee.
“Chairman Grassley wants Todd Blanche’s nomination to be successful,” said a Judiciary Committee spokesperson, who declined to be named. “Noticing the markup gives more time for the White House to secure the votes for the President’s nominee. Grassley would like to see Blanche confirmed before the August recess as he has an excellent record restoring law and order and keeping Americans safe.”
House Majority Leader Steve Scalise is zeroing in on one of House Republicans’ biggest contests — a purple district in Nebraska — when he starts his recess campaign sprint.
Scalise will travel to Nebraska’s 2nd Congressional District in the Omaha area for an event with Republican Brinker Harding in the coming days, according to a person with direct knowledge of the matter granted anonymity to share plans not yet made public. Republicans are digging in to defend the seat, which Kamala Harris won in the 2024 presidential race and is among Democrats’ best pick up opportunities this fall as they seek to flip the House.
Harding is running against Democratic consultant Denise Powell to replace retiring GOP Rep. Don Bacon. Bacon, a moderate-leaning Republican, flipped the Omaha district red in 2016.
After Nebraska, Scalise is planning to travel across the country throughout August, including to defend GOP incumbents Mariannette Miller-Meeks’ and Zach Nunn’s key battleground seats in Iowa’s 1st and 3rd Congressional Districts and Derrick Van Orden in Wisconsin’s 3rd Congressional District.
He’ll boost candidates working to flip blue districts like Laurie Buckhout in North Carolina’s 1st Congressional District, Derek Merrin in Ohio’s 9th Congressional District and Mike LiPetri in New York’s 3rd Congressional District.
Scalise also plans to travel to Michigan, Colorado, South Carolina and Texas for campaign events over the August recess.
President Donald Trump goaded John Cornyn on social media Friday morning, accusing the Texas senator of withholding his vote on Todd Blanche’s attorney general nomination in retaliation for Trump’s central role in his political demise.
Cornyn, who lost his May primary to Texas’ scandal-ridden attorney general, the Trump-endorsed Ken Paxton, has threatened to block Blanche’s nomination in the Senate Judiciary Committee until the White House promises to permanently shelve its $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization fund” in writing — something Trump appears unwilling to do.
“John Cornyn never had a problem with the so called “Fund,” which will not benefit me, but rather the great American Patriots who were hunted down like dogs and whose lives were unfairly and illegally destroyed by the Crooked Joe Biden Administration, until after I decided to Endorse and Support his Republican Primary opponent in Texas, who easily won the Nomination for the United States Senate,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
Several Republicans bristled at the fund, which could have been deployed to compensate Americans who faced charges after the Jan. 6 Capitol riot and which gives the president and his family audit immunity over taxes. At his July confirmation hearing, Blanche said that the fund, part of a settlement the president reached with the IRS, was defunct. But the administration has been “reluctant to change” the text of the settlement, Cornyn told reporters Thursday.
Trump signaled his continued support for the Jan 6 rioters on Friday.
“I will always feel that these victims of government abuse should be paid back for what they were forced to endure, their lives have been ruined!” he wrote. “Millions of people agree with me, as was proven in my landslide Presidential win, where this was a major subject of debate, and so did John Cornyn, until he lost his Election to an opponent that I Endorsed.”
On Thursday, the president suggested that he could punt a Senate vote on Blanche until after Cornyn — and Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) — leaves the chamber at the end of the year. Cornyn, however, suggested on social media that there are other Republican senators with concerns about the fund.
“After the midterms, who knows who’s going to be the next United States senator from North Carolina or Texas?” Cornyn told reporters.
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