The Republican Party in the Senate faced a potential rebellion over controversial provisions in a $70 billion immigration enforcement bill as tensions mounted between the White House and Congress, with lawmakers set to return after a weeklong recess.
to endorse GOP opponent Ken Paxton on Tuesday. By Wednesday, the GOP’s $70 billion immigration enforcement bill was onclosed-door meetings with administration officials . GOP leadership decided it would rather pause deliberation over the reconciliation legislation , rather than risk a full-scale rebellion over politically toxic provisions .
Lawmakers won’t return until June 1, after a more than weeklong Memorial Day recess.
“It was something that was supposed to be very narrow, targeted, focused, clean, straightforward,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune said. “It’s hard to divorce anything that happens here from what’s happening in the political atmosphere around us. ”“So the nation’s top law enforcement official is asking for a slush fund to pay people who assault cops? ” Sen.
Mitch McConnell , the former longtime GOP leader, said of the DOJ fund in a rare statement.
“Utterly stupid, morally wrong — Take your pick. ”“I don’t know, I really don’t,” the president told reporters.
“I can tell you, I only do what’s right. ” Handwringing over the ballroom security funding, part of a broader $1 billion tranche to better secure the White House complex, was compounded by the anti-weaponization fund. Republicans remain deadlocked over how much of the security money to strip from the measure and how to place restrictions on who may qualify for fund payouts, such as Capitol rioters accused of assaulting police.
Democrats were at the ready to blitz Republicans with a series of tough amendment votes during a marathon session that leadership was forced to scrap. Although reconciliation is a filibuster-skirting process that does not require Democratic buy-in, votes to ban the DOJ payments and strike the ballroom funding may have been able to pass with GOP defectors and turn the bill into a nonstarter for Trump or some House Republicans.
“Republicans are in complete disarray,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said. “They’re at each other’s throats, and the American people are suffering for it. ” But the timing of the anti-weaponization fund, created as part of a settlement over Trump’s lawsuit against the IRS for leaking his tax returns, came amid underlying tensions from the campaign trail and Trump’s ballroom that pushed Republicans to their limit.
They placed the blame on the White House, which“There is a tremendous amount of frustration because DOJ didn’t need to settle the case when they did and didn’t need to announce this fund,” a senior GOP aide told theThune placed the onus on the administration or the DOJ “to come up with some suggestions and ideas” for policy guardrails on the settlement fund. A White House memo on the fund and private lobbying from acting Attorney General Todd Blanche failed to assuage concerns.
Roughly an hour after Blanche left the Capitol, senators threw in the towel on their reconciliation bill until after the holiday recess. Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D. , arrives before President Donald Trump delivers the State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress in the House chamber at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2026.
Senate Appropriations Committee Chair Susan Collins , facing a battleground reelection, raised the alarm to Blanche about Capitol rioters receiving compensation. Collins said she needed more clarity after Blanche “seemed” to commit such individuals would be ineligible for a settlement. Thune confirmed the White House did not consult with Hill GOP leadership about the DOJ fund prior to its announcement.
To make matters worse, Republicans were already stewing over Trump’s revenge tour against those he’s accused of being insufficiently loyal, including Cassidy and Cornyn. Over in the House, Speaker Mike Johnson kept his powder dry. His focus was on crafting a possible third reconciliation bill — the first was Trump’s mega tax law last year, and the ongoing immigration measure is their second — that Republicans could focus on next before the November midterm elections.
“The Senate clearly needs a little bit more time to find consensus on reconciliation 2.0,” Johnson said. “Meanwhile, in the House, we’re working on reconciliation 3.0 to have that one ready to go. ”
Republican Party Republican Leadership Senate Immigration Bill Reconciliation Legislation John Thune Senate Majority Leader Mitch Mcconnell GOP Leadership Memo Private Lobbying Senate Appropriations Committee Chair Administration Officials Ballroom Security Funding Anti-Weaponization Fund Memorial Day Recess John Thune Senate Republicans Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer Frustration Tearing American People Trump Headline Amendment Votes Resistance Highly Toxic Provisions Toxic Provisions
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