by Ben Whedon
A Senate vote to include language blocking the Department of Justice’s “anti-weaponization fund” in a reconciliation bill funding immigration enforcement failed on Thursday, despite Republican defections to support it.
The $1.776 billion fund was part of a settlement to end Trump’s lawsuit against the IRS over the leak of his tax returns by contractor Charles Littlejohn, who pleaded guilty. It drew bipartisan pushback and faced legal scrutiny, leading acting Attorney General Todd Blanche to announce the agency would not move forward with it. But some lawmakers sought to include language codifying that decision in the upcoming bill.
Led by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, Democrats and a handful of Republicans voted for an amendment to include the language, though it failed 49-50, The Hill reported. GOP Sens. Susan Collins of Maine, Dan Sullivan of Alaska, and Jon Husted of Ohio joined Democrats in backing the amendment.
The fund drew scrutiny from lawmakers over concerns it could be used to reward Trump allies. Some Trump critics within the GOP, including Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., previously suggested that they may not support the final bill if it did not include the language banning the fund. Tillis, ultimately, did not support Schumer’s amendment.
The reconciliation package provides additional funding to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Border Patrol. The GOP was unable to secure that funding through the normal appropriations process due to opposition from Democrats that led to the record-breaking shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security.
Reconciliation, however, is a process that permits lawmakers to pass budgetary items without being subject to the 60-vote filibuster threshold in the Senate, meaning Republicans could advance the funding without cross-party support.
– – –
Ben Whedon is a reporter for Just the News.Â
