Bill Cassidy signs brief calling ‘weaponization’ fund a ‘dire threat’

Louisiana Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy signed an amicus brief saying President Donald Trump’s “anti-proliferation” fund is a “terrible threat” to Congress and the constitutional order.

friendly summary Cassidy and Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., filed a lawsuit challenging the funding, which is making its way in court in Virginia on Wednesday. Cassidy lost a runoff in Louisiana last month in a Trump-backed primary challenge, and Congress is weighing changes to a budget reconciliation bill that could completely undermine the “bill” fund.

Cassidy’s appearance at the briefing is a window into broad opposition to the funding from Senate Republicans, who rarely oppose Trump because of the potential political ramifications. It also underscores how Cassidy not running for office could complicate future votes in the Senate.

The summary argues that the court, which temporarily suspended the fund in May, should lift the blockage. The senators argued that the funding poses “an immediate and serious threat to our constitutional order and the authority of Congress.”

“The existence of the Fund strikes at the very core of Congressional authority and our Constitutional order,” the senators said.

Lawmakers say the fund violates “Expenditures, Appropriations and Appointments” rules, undercutting Congress’ authority over the federal budget. They also argue it could also provide financial compensation to convicted violent rioters who stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, and tried to disrupt the certification of former President Joe Biden’s election victory.

“To deliberately use public funds to compensate these perpetrators, in violation of the Constitution and laws of this country, is to use the machinery of democratic government to finance an attack on the most fundamental processes of government,” the summary states.

The fund was created as part of the settlement of a $10 billion lawsuit filed by Trump against the Internal Revenue Service due to the leak of his tax returns. In exchange for dismissing that case, the Justice Department created a $1.8 billion legal aid fund to compensate victims of what the administration calls “legal fees.”

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche testified before Congress on Tuesday that the Justice Department has permanently abandoned its arms funding and will not pursue the matter regardless of the court’s outcome. But Trump and his family are protected from audits and other tax enforcement actions related to tax returns filed before his case was settled out of court last month, under the original agreement creating the fund.

Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office on Wednesday, Trump said he did not know whether the case was “dead” or “pending” and that he “should ask the lawyers.”

Critics argued that the Justice Department’s initial statement that it would not continue the fund did not make clear whether the department had abandoned any plans for the fund and that they were seeking a more permanent solution.

“The Court should issue an injunction against the implementation of the Proliferation Fund and ultimately rule on behalf of Plaintiffs in this matter,” the senators wrote in the brief. they said.