By David Morgan and Richard Cowan
WASHINGTON, June 4 (Reuters) – U.S. Senate Republicans grappled with the ultimate fate of President Donald Trump’s sidelined $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization” fund on Thursday, in a marathon session before voting on a $70 billion bill to fund an immigration crackdown.
Lawmakers began voting on amendments to the bill in a “vote-a-rama” session that was expected to end in a vote on passage of the bill later in the day.
Democrats opened with a motion to permanently kill what they call a “slush fund” for Trump’s allies, in a bid to force Republicans to openly defy a president who has ended the political careers of prominent lawmakers in recent weeks.
But the proceedings quickly stalled after Republican Senator Susan Collins voted for that motion, which would also derail the underlying bill to provide funding for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol through fiscal year 2029.
That prompted a lengthy discussion on the Senate floor between Republicans including Collins and Senate Majority Leader John Thune, leaving proceedings at a standstill for much of the morning.
The fund, which critics say would allow Trump to use taxpayer dollars to compensate his political allies, has already been put on hold by the White House and Justice Department over fierce opposition from Senate Republicans.
On Wednesday, Trump declined to say whether the fund had actually been terminated, telling reporters: “I love it. I think it’s so important.”
Republican Senators Thom Tillis and Bill Cassidy proposed their own amendments to bring the fund to a permanent end. But it was not clear whether party leaders would allow the measures to come to the floor.
Tillis, who opposed Schumer’s motion, told reporters that he would not support passage of the ICE funding bill without a Republican amendment vote to codify Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche’s congressional testimony that the administration was abandoning the fund.
“I don’t know why we just don’t codify it, so that Democrats are not raising the speculation that it can come at some point?” Tillis told reporters.
A number of recent actions by Trump have prompted open criticism from some Republicans, from seeking $1 billion in taxpayer funding for a White House ballroom and security upgrades to his decision to nominate Blanche as attorney general and name political ally Bill Pulte as U.S. intelligence chief.
Cassidy, who lost his primary last month to two Trump-aligned challengers in Louisiana, has proposed a series of amendments, including one to nullify an agreement with the Internal Revenue Service protecting Trump from tax audits.
Schumer’s motion was the first salvo in a slew of expected Democratic amendments aimed at sowing division between Republicans over issues including a ban on IRS audits of Trump and his family, the Iran war, Trump’s tariffs, and actions by immigration enforcement officials, including the fatal shootings of two U.S. citizens earlier this year.
Democrats hope their legislative onslaught will undermine Republicans in the November midterm elections, in which Democrats are favored to take control of the House of Representatives and also have a shot at capturing the Senate.
(Reporting by David Morgan and Richard Cowan, editing by Deepa Babington)
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