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Senate Republicans on Thursday postponed plans to vote on a major immigration enforcement funding package after growing backlash within the GOP over the Trump administration’s controversial $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization” fund.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune had hoped to move the reconciliation package through the Senate before lawmakers left Washington for the Memorial Day recess. But after a lengthy closed-door briefing with Justice Department officials, several Republican senators raised concerns about both the timing and structure of the compensation fund tied to President Donald Trump.
Administration officials “need to help with this issue, because we have a lot of members who are concerned, obviously, about the timing, but also about the substance,” Thune told reporters after canceling the planned votes.
Asked how much the controversy surrounding the fund contributed to delaying the reconciliation bill, Thune replied: “Well, that’s a big issue.”
The Justice Department recently announced plans to create the “anti-weaponization” fund as part of a settlement agreement resolving lawsuits Trump filed against federal agencies over investigations involving his tax returns and other matters. The administration says the fund would compensate Americans who claim they were unfairly targeted by politically motivated investigations or government actions.
Republicans had planned to use the budget reconciliation process to pass the immigration package with a simple majority vote, bypassing Democratic opposition. The legislation includes roughly $70 billion in funding for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection through the remainder of Trump’s term.
But the compensation fund has emerged as a major sticking point for some Republicans.
“I think the administration is putting itself in a bad spot,” said Bill Cassidy after Thursday’s briefing with acting Attorney General Todd Blanche.
The closed-door session lasted more than 90 minutes, with GOP senators leaving visibly frustrated and offering few details publicly. Several lawmakers said they were discussing ways to place restrictions or “guardrails” on the compensation program before supporting the broader package.
To calm concerns, Justice Department officials circulated a fact sheet stating that Trump, his sons and the Trump Organization would receive no payments from the fund and instead only an apology under the settlement agreement.
“This is about seeking accountability for all Americans who were victims of lawfare and weaponization,” the document stated, citing examples including alleged censorship of online speech, investigations into parents at school board meetings and FBI scrutiny of churchgoers.
The department also emphasized that Democrats would be eligible to file claims through the compensation process.
The delayed reconciliation package also includes another controversial provision: approximately $1 billion requested for security-related improvements tied to Trump’s planned White House ballroom project. That proposal has also faced skepticism from Senate Republicans, several of whom questioned the cost and lack of detail surrounding the request.
The legislative setback means Congress will miss Trump’s June 1 deadline for passing the immigration funding bill. Both the Senate and House adjourned Thursday ahead of the Memorial Day break, with House Republicans canceling Friday votes as they awaited Senate action.
“It was something that was supposed to be very narrow, targeted, focused, clean, straightforward,” Thune said of the immigration package. “And it got a little bit more complicated this week.”
Meanwhile, House Republican leaders also delayed a planned vote Thursday on a Democratic-backed Iran war powers resolution that would direct Trump to remove U.S. forces from hostilities against Iran absent congressional authorization.
House Majority Leader Steve Scalise said the vote would instead occur after lawmakers return from recess, citing absent Republican members who wanted to participate.
The House narrowly failed to pass a similar resolution last week after the vote ended in a tie. In the Senate, a war powers resolution advanced earlier this week after Cassidy joined three other Republicans in voting with Democrats to move the measure forward.
