(AFP) – US Senate Republicans abandoned plans Thursday to advance major immigration enforcement legislation after furious internal disagreement over a proposed $1.8 billion compensation fund for President Donald Trump’s allies who claim they were unfairly targeted by federal agencies. The collapse was a significant setback for Trump and party leaders, who had hoped to pass roughly $70 billion in funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Border Patrol, and other agencies before lawmakers began a week-long recess.
Instead, the debate exposed rare public resistance from Republicans normally inclined to fall in line behind the president, with senators balking at provisions they feared would be politically toxic in an election year dominated by affordability concerns. The immediate flashpoint was Trump’s proposed “anti-weaponization fund,” which critics warned could send taxpayer money to Trump supporters convicted of violence against police officers during the 2021 attack on the US Capitol. “Senate Republicans couldn’t even hold their own conference together long enough to bring this partisan bill to the floor before recess,” Democratic senators Mark Warner and Tim Kaine said in a joint statement.
“After weeks of rushing ahead with backroom negotiations, Republicans are now openly fighting amongst themselves over a bill that would pour billions more into President Trump’s extreme immigration agenda and green-light nearly $1.8 billion in taxpayer money for a slush fund to reward Trump’s political allies.” The decision meant senators were leaving Washington without passing the immigration package, blowing past Trump’s June 1 deadline for approving a major pillar of his domestic agenda. Acting attorney general Todd Blanche met privately with Republican senators just before the negotiations collapsed in an effort to calm concerns over the fund, but several lawmakers emerged unconvinced.
Republicans had also been divided over a separate proposal for up to $1 billion in Secret Service funding tied to security for Trump’s planned White House ballroom. Senate leaders had already concluded that the ballroom funding would have to be dropped from the text because of insufficient support and procedural obstacles. The double retreat underscored growing unease among Republicans over Trump priorities that Democrats have cast as evidence of a president more focused on personal projects and political grievances than on the cost of living.
Trump had dismissed the potential ballroom rebellion, telling reporters he was relying on private donations for the project and didn’t need the public money anyway. “If they want to spend money on securing the White House, I think it would be very much a good expenditure. But the ballroom is being built,” he said. Democrats had been preparing to force repeated votes on both the ballroom and compensation fund, hoping to portray Republicans as defending money for rioters and a vanity project while families struggle with mortgages, groceries, and gasoline.
The setback comes as Trump’s campaign of retribution against Republicans who cross him has stirred frustration inside the party, emboldening rebels to oppose Trump like almost never before. Trump helped defeat Senator Bill Cassidy in Louisiana, pushed to oust Kentucky Representative Thomas Massie, and endorsed Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton over longtime Senator John Cornyn in a runoff next week. Several Republican senators have warned that those vendettas could make it harder to pass Trump’s agenda by alienating lawmakers whose votes he still needs.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune has acknowledged that Trump’s interventions in primaries can make moving legislation “slightly more complicated.” That tension is now playing out in real time, as Republicans remain eager to deliver Trump a major immigration victory, but are proving far less willing to defend every politically explosive demand that comes with it. “The American people will see it in black and white. Our contrast will be glaringly clear,” Top Senate Democrat Chuck Schumer told reporters before the negotiations collapsed. “Ballroom Republicans are not working for you. They’re busy fighting for Trump. Democrats are fighting for you.”
– Frankie TAGGART
© 2024 AFP
