{"id":796,"date":"2026-05-20T18:23:02","date_gmt":"2026-05-20T18:23:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/uscnews.org\/?p=796"},"modified":"2026-05-20T18:23:02","modified_gmt":"2026-05-20T18:23:02","slug":"democratic-senators-will-test-gop-unity-with-votes-on-trumps-anti-weaponization-fund","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/uscnews.org\/?p=796","title":{"rendered":"Democratic senators will test GOP unity with votes on Trump\u2019s \u2018anti-weaponization\u2019 fund"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/dims.apnews.com\/dims4\/default\/55a4510\/2147483647\/strip\/true\/crop\/6000x3998+0+1\/resize\/980x653!\/quality\/90\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fassets.apnews.com%2F86%2F51%2Fab11a962a2e52ae38d2fa87da591%2F26fc7699bd48435f93377086bc101295\" width=\"100%\" \/><small>The Ballroom construction site can be seen as President Donald Trump tours the area at the White House, Tuesday, May 19, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo\/Jacquelyn Martin)<\/small><\/p>\n<p>2026-05-20T18:07:47Z<\/p>\n<p>WASHINGTON (AP) \u2014 Democratic senators plan to force a vote this week on President Donald Trump\u2019s new <span><a data-gtm-enhancement-style=\"LinkEnhancementA\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/trump-lawsuit-irs-leak-3729de38770b558be01712a143437bf8\">$1.776 billion settlement fund<\/a><\/span> to compensate political allies, testing Republican unity as Trump lashes out at lawmakers in his own party.<\/p>\n<p>Republicans are expected to vote on a roughly <span><a data-gtm-enhancement-style=\"LinkEnhancementA\" href=\"https:\/\/newsroom.ap.org\/detail\/pronto\/be294d74e3b197d469f43b902e707580\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">$72 billion bill<\/a><\/span> to restore funding to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Border Patrol after Democrats blocked the money for months. <\/p>\n<p>But the straightforward legislation became more complicated after Republicans added $1 billion in security money for the White House campus and Trump\u2019s <span><a data-gtm-enhancement-style=\"LinkEnhancementA\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/trump-ballroom-construction-east-wing-275f8034ad3817ca78aa085d1c202c32\">new ballroom<\/a><\/span> \u2014 and as some GOP senators have grown increasingly frustrated with the president. Republicans have criticized the settlement fund, and many were upset by Trump\u2019s <span><a data-gtm-enhancement-style=\"LinkEnhancementA\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/trump-texas-senate-endorsement-paxton-cornyn-adb4c7213fc2d0db0b29d0ab65d49384\">endorsement Tuesday of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton<\/a><\/span> in the party primary runoff next week against Sen. John Cornyn.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s been a hell of a bad week for Donald Trump and his Republicans,\u201d Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer of New York said on the Senate floor. \u201cAnd it\u2019s only Wednesday.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>Democrats have an opening to force a vote on the settlement fund because Republicans are trying to pass the immigration enforcement bill through a complicated budget process that requires a long series of amendment votes. Democrats are considering multiple amendments on the settlement fund, potentially to block it outright or to ban any payments to Trump supporters who <span><a data-gtm-enhancement-style=\"LinkEnhancementA\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/capitol-riot-book-excerpt-trump-32429c15e05de5b1de34fe799ba89882\">beat law enforcement officers<\/a><\/span> in the <span><a data-gtm-enhancement-style=\"LinkEnhancementA\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/hub\/2021-united-states-capitol-riot\">Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol<\/a><\/span>. <\/p>\n<p>Those amendments, along with others, potentially could pass as a growing number of Republicans speak out against the fund and other parts of Trump\u2019s agenda.<\/p>\n<p>    <a><\/a><\/p>\n<p>    <!-- AP \"Read More\" embed (place mid-article) --><\/p>\n<p>  <button type=\"button\" aria-expanded=\"false\"><br \/>\n    Read More <span aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/span><br \/>\n  <\/button><\/p>\n<p>Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said Tuesday he was \u201cnot a big fan\u201d of the new fund, which the administration announced as a part of a settlement that resolves the president\u2019s <span><a data-gtm-enhancement-style=\"LinkEnhancementA\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/trump-treasury-irs-tax-records-e3a79e1bfdc94a663504754af80ce183\">lawsuit against the IRS<\/a><\/span> over the leak of his tax returns. Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy, who <span><a data-gtm-enhancement-style=\"LinkEnhancementA\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/cassidy-senate-louisiana-trump-loss-63ba36b3a4200c74baa0fdfedbd52412\">lost his seat in Saturday\u2019s primary election in Louisiana<\/a><\/span> to a Trump-endorsed candidate, called it a \u201cslush fund\u201d and said \u201cyou can\u2019t just make up things.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>Hanging over the growing GOP rift is Trump\u2019s surprise endorsement of Paxton, an intervention that has Republican senators privately fuming that it could cost them their majority in November as they view the incumbent as the better candidate in the November general election.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere\u2019s always a consequence with taking on United States senators,\u201d Thune said Wednesday. Trump \u201cobviously has his favorites and people he wants to endorse and that\u2019s his prerogative. But what we have to deal with up here is moving the agenda, and obviously that can become slightly more complicated.\u201d <\/p>\n<h2>Trump calls for Senate parliamentarian to be fired <\/h2>\n<p>As Republicans challenged parts of his agenda, Trump unloaded on the Senate in a social media post. <\/p>\n<p>He urged Republicans to fire the Senate parliamentarian, Elizabeth MacDonough, who has said that <span><a data-gtm-enhancement-style=\"LinkEnhancementA\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/white-house-ballroom-funding-senate-parliamentarian-republicans-042dc61b41d1163e08ee095e7ffb2e48\">parts of the $1 billion security proposal cannot remain in the ICE and Border Patrol bill<\/a><\/span>. Trump also renewed his long-standing calls for the Senate to pass the SAVE Act, a Republican bill that would require all voters to prove U.S. citizenship, and to end the Senate filibuster. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cRepublicans play a very soft game compared to the Dumocrats,\u201d he wrote. \u201cIt is their single biggest disadvantage in politics.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>Trump added that Democrats will eliminate the filibuster \u201con the First Day\u201d if they ever get full power in Washington again and that Republicans need to \u201cget smart and tough\u201d or \u201cyou\u2019ll all be looking for a job much sooner than you thought possible!\u201d <\/p>\n<p>Republicans have been loyal to Trump on most issues, but they have resisted his repeated calls \u2014 even in his first term \u2014 to kill the filibuster, which triggers a 60-vote threshold in the Senate. <\/p>\n<h2>Republicans divided on settlement fund <\/h2>\n<p>While some Republicans have said they are supportive of the administration\u2019s settlement fund, several have questioned it. Senators <span><a data-gtm-enhancement-style=\"LinkEnhancementA\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/todd-blanche-justice-department-congress-irs-fund-1b8c7130c12253af161367b701d914b7\">grilled acting Attorney General Todd Blanche<\/a><\/span> on it at a hearing Tuesday, where he described the fund as \u201cunusual\u201d but not unprecedented. <\/p>\n<p>Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., said that he thinks it is a \u201creal risk\u201d that some of the rioters charged \u2014 and later pardoned by Trump \u2014 in the Jan. 6 attack could get compensation through the fund. He said that would be \u201cabsurd.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>On Wednesday, two police officers who helped defend the Capitol in the 2021 assault <span><a data-gtm-enhancement-style=\"LinkEnhancementA\" href=\"https:\/\/storage.courtlistener.com\/recap\/gov.uscourts.dcd.292539\/gov.uscourts.dcd.292539.1.0.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">sued<\/a><\/span> to block the payouts. Blanche, a personal attorney for Trump before joining the Department of Justice in Trump\u2019s second term, would not rule out the possibility that <span><a data-gtm-enhancement-style=\"LinkEnhancementA\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/capitol-riot-police-trump-jan-6-congress-34fb3cfeeb21a746c53760bb0f1df37d\">rioters who assaulted police<\/a><\/span> on Jan. 6 would be eligible for compensation. <\/p>\n<h2>White House security money in limbo <\/h2>\n<p>Republican leaders are still revising the $1 billion security provision after the parliamentarian said it was too complex for the budget bill. The money could be scaled back or dropped from the bill.<\/p>\n<p>Thune acknowledged \u201congoing vote issues,\u201d as leaders try to measure Republican support, and \u201congoing parliamentarian issues,\u201d as they try to figure out what will be allowed in the bill under Senate rules. <\/p>\n<p>Democrats and some Republicans have questioned whether Congress should approve money for the White House ballroom when voters are concerned about affordability issues. Under the <span><a data-gtm-enhancement-style=\"LinkEnhancementA\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/ballroom-white-house-trump-senate-billion-security-94c2b4087630b41831136e87ec5304f9\">Secret Service request<\/a><\/span>, about $220 million would pay for security improvements related to the ballroom and the rest would go for a new screening center for visitors, training and other security measures. <\/p>\n<p>Tillis said the bill should not have included the other security improvements \u201cbecause it\u2019s just giving everybody the \u2018billion dollar ballroom,\u2019 and it\u2019s just a bad idea.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>He said he does not think there is enough support among Republicans for the full $1 billion in funding or even the $220 million request.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI still want private donations to pay for it, they need to explain to me why we need this,\u201d Tillis said, noting that Trump had originally said that the project would be fully paid for with private money. <\/p>\n<p>        <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/author\/joey-cappelletti\"><\/a><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"JOEY CAPPELLETTI\" width=\"100\" height=\"100\" src=\"https:\/\/dims.apnews.com\/dims4\/default\/cba6c71\/2147483647\/strip\/true\/crop\/400x400+0+0\/resize\/100x100!\/quality\/90\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fassets.apnews.com%2F30%2F83%2F382059184d4ca328cdcefd3cfe48%2Fghynv-lf-400x400.jpg\" loading=\"lazy\" \/><\/p>\n<p>        <\/p>\n<p>                <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/author\/joey-cappelletti\">JOEY CAPPELLETTI<\/a><\/p>\n<p>                Cappelletti covers Congress for The Associated Press. He previously reported on Michigan politics for AP.<\/p>\n<p>                        <a rel=\"noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Cappelletti7\" target=\"_blank\" data-social-service=\"twitter\"><\/a><\/p>\n<p>        <svg><\/svg><\/p>\n<p>        <\/p>\n<p>    <span><br \/>\n        twitter<br \/>\n    <\/span><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<p>                        <a rel=\"noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/cdn-cgi\/l\/email-protection#402a23213030252c2c253434290021306e2f3227\" target=\"_blank\" data-social-service=\"mailto\"><\/a><\/p>\n<p>        <svg><\/svg><\/p>\n<p>        <\/p>\n<p>    <span><br \/>\n        mailto<br \/>\n    <\/span><br \/>\n<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Ballroom construction site can be seen as President Donald Trump tours the area at the White House, Tuesday, May 19, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo\/Jacquelyn Martin) 2026-05-20T18:07:47Z WASHINGTON (AP) \u2014 Democratic senators plan to force a vote this week on President Donald Trump\u2019s new $1.776 billion settlement fund to compensate political allies, testing Republican&hellip;&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"neve_meta_sidebar":"","neve_meta_container":"","neve_meta_enable_content_width":"","neve_meta_content_width":0,"neve_meta_title_alignment":"","neve_meta_author_avatar":"","neve_post_elements_order":"","neve_meta_disable_header":"","neve_meta_disable_footer":"","neve_meta_disable_title":"","neve_meta_reading_time":"","_themeisle_gutenberg_block_has_review":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-796","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/uscnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/796","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/uscnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/uscnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uscnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uscnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=796"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/uscnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/796\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/uscnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=796"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uscnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=796"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uscnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=796"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}