Senate GOP Delays Immigration Funding Vote Over DOJ Anti-Weaponization Fund

Senate Republican leaders postponed a vote on a GOP immigration funding package until June amid objections to a controversial $1.776 billion Department of Justice (DOJ) “anti-weaponization” fund, sources familiar with the discussions told NBC News. Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., had aimed to pass the reconciliation bill before the Memorial Day holiday, but GOP senators left a closed-door briefing with Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche with unresolved concerns about the fund’s timing and substance.

The DOJ fund was established as part of a legal settlement involving former President Donald Trump and is intended to provide compensation to Americans who claim they were victims of government “lawfare and weaponization,” including those censored online or targeted by investigations. The fund excludes monetary payments to Trump, his sons, or the Trump Organization, according to a DOJ fact sheet. However, Democrats have criticized the fund as lacking congressional oversight and have vowed to propose amendments to restrict it.

Republican senators expressed frustration after the 90-minute briefing, with Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., stating the administration had put itself in a difficult position. Senate GOP sources indicated they are working on ways to impose guardrails on the fund’s use. DOJ officials circulated a fact sheet explaining the fund’s oversight and eligibility criteria, emphasizing that claims could be submitted by individuals across the political spectrum.

The immigration reconciliation bill would allocate approximately $70 billion to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Border Patrol, agencies excluded from earlier bipartisan funding due to Democratic demands for enforcement restrictions. The package also includes $1 billion requested by Trump for Secret Service security measures related to renovations of the White House East Wing ballroom, which has faced Republican opposition and was ruled by the Senate parliamentarian as potentially violating reconciliation rules.

Following the Senate’s decision to adjourn without voting on the bill, House GOP leaders canceled planned votes, and a scheduled meeting between Speaker Mike Johnson and President Trump was called off. Both chambers will recess for Memorial Day and return in early June, making it unlikely the bill will meet Trump’s June 1 deadline.

Thune acknowledged the package had become more complicated than initially intended, describing it as “something that was supposed to be very narrow, targeted, focused, clean, straightforward,” but now burdened by additional issues. He said, “It makes everything way harder than it should be,” referring to the DOJ fund’s impact on the process.

A senior GOP Senate aide blamed the administration for the impasse, stating the DOJ did not need to settle the case or announce the fund when it did, which raised questions among senators that remain unanswered. The aide emphasized that senators remain focused on funding ICE and Border Patrol’s core functions.

The delay occurs amid heightened political tensions, with Trump recently endorsing challengers to incumbent GOP senators, including Sen. John Cornyn of Texas and Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana. Thune noted it is difficult to separate legislative developments from the broader political atmosphere.

In the House, some Republicans also voiced concerns about the DOJ fund and the ballroom funding. GOP Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania called the anti-weaponization fund a “dangerous backsliding in the transparency of our institutions and our commitment to the American taxpayer” and opposed the ballroom funding. House Freedom Caucus Chairman Rep. Andy Harris of Maryland indicated willingness to delay votes until after the Memorial Day recess, stating, “There’s no emergency about moving it by June 1, except the president has thrown it out there.”