Senate Republicans Move to Curb Trump’s $1.8 Billion Fund, Drop $1 Billion Ballroom
Updated
Updated · abcnews.com · May 21
Senate Republicans Move to Curb Trump’s $1.8 Billion Fund, Drop $1 Billion Ballroom
2 articles · Updated · abcnews.com · May 21
$1.8 billion in Trump’s proposed “Anti-Weaponization Fund” is facing Senate GOP restrictions, while a separate $1 billion White House security allocation tied to a ballroom is expected to be stripped from the bill.
Republicans are rushing the broader $70 billion immigration enforcement package to the floor before Memorial Day, but the fund has become a flashpoint because it would compensate Trump allies through a lightly supervised commission.
A vote-a-rama could still reshape the measure: Democrats plan amendments to block or limit what Sen. Richard Blumenthal called an “illegal abhorrent slush fund,” and some proposals may need only four Republican votes to pass.
The ballroom money lost GOP backing after the Senate parliamentarian ruled the $1 billion could not stay in the reconciliation bill, and several Republicans threatened to sink the package if it remained.
Trump’s recent attacks on Republican senators have complicated party discipline, raising the odds that moderates and other critics could join Democrats on politically difficult amendment votes even if the final bill still passes.
With oversight agencies dismantled, how will $70B in new enforcement funding be monitored for accountability?
What legal precedent allows a $1.8B settlement fund to operate without judicial review or congressional oversight?