Senate Republicans narrowly block bid to bar Trump’s $1.8bn fund to pay allies | US news
Senate Republicans on Thursday narrowly defeated an attempt by Democrats to block Donald Trump from creating a $1.8 billion fund to pay his allies, even as signs emerged that opposition to the proposal was spreading within the US president’s own party.
Democratic Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer had proposed adding language banning payments to the Republican-backed legislation to fund Trump’s campaign of mass deportations during his term.
After three hours of voting that saw groups of senators gather on the floor of the chamber, the amendment failed by a vote of 49 to 50. Three Republican senators, all of whom were seen as vulnerable in the midterm elections in November, broke away from their party and supported all Democrats.
Although Schumer’s amendment fails, the issue is likely to come up again in Congress. The president’s plan for a “counterproliferation” fund that could provide financial settlements to people linked to the Jan. 6 insurrection has fractured Senate Republicans and complicated efforts to permanently resolve a dispute with Democrats over funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP), which the president has charged with enforcing strict immigration policies.
Amid bipartisan backlash, acting U.S. attorney Todd Blanche told lawmakers earlier this week that the administration would not move forward on the funding. But that didn’t satisfy Schumer, who insisted that Congress pass a law preventing the money from being spent.
“Republicans are taking the word of Todd Blanche, who built his career on lies, the administration will drop the slush fund,” Schumer said. He noted that just the day before, Trump had expressed his “love” for the fund and said it was “very important.”
“Do any of us believe that Donald Trump, who lies to us every day, can resist sticking his sticky fingers into a slush fund when it would benefit himself and his family?” Schumer asked.
Susan Collins of Maine, the only Republican senator representing the state Kamala Harris won in 2024, supported the amendment along with Dan Sullivan of Alaska and Jon Husted of Ohio. These are all top targets for Democrats in the midterm elections, and Fox News aired a broadcast on Wednesday. questionnaire It shows Husted trailing his Democratic rival, former senator Sherrod Brown, by eight percentage points.
Schumer proposed changes to the $70 billion bill that would fund ICE and CBP through 2029; Republicans are trying to cross party lines by using the budget reconciliation process to bypass Democrats’ filibuster in the Senate. The dispute over funding for these agencies began in January when Democrats refused to vote for appropriations without reform, leading to a 75-day partial shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security.
The rules of the reconciliation process allow lawmakers to propose changes to the bill before it passes the Senate. After Schumer’s amendment failed, Republican senator Thom Tillis proposed adding language that would block payments from the “gunfighting” fund and instead funneling that money to the justice department’s anti-fraud efforts.
“This bill is unpopular. This administration has said they won’t move forward on this. This is an opportunity for us to put this aside and fund the fraud part, which I think is very important,” Tillis said.
Democrats rejected this amendment, while Oregon senator Jeff Merkley called it inadequate. “To take a slush fund, eliminate it, and create a new slush fund that is still under the attorney general’s control is not the way to go,” he said. “The way to go is to get rid of these slush funds completely.”
Tillis’ amendment failed, with only 11 Republicans and three Democrats voting in favor.
