Way harder than it should be: Why Congress may balk on $1.7B compensation fund
Senate Republicans pulled their ICE and Border Patrol funding bill after backlash over a $1.776 billion compensation fund created without Congress.
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche had never appeared before a congressional panel asking for money to run his department until Tuesday morning.
And even though cabinet secretaries routinely make their budget requests to Congress, it appears that Blanche apparently didn’t even need to ask lawmakers for the most-controversial batch of federal funds in years.
It was already approved. Somehow.
Blanche’s Justice Department announced the creation of a billion compensation fund to pay people who Republicans say are victims of government weaponization. Who gets the money isn’t clear. And what’s murkier still is how the stash of cash came about.
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In short, President Donald Trump sued his own IRS for leaking his tax returns – along with the filings of several hundred other Americans. Then, Blanche’s own Department of Justice announced that the president essentially settled with himself.
"Per the settlement, plaintiffs will receive a formal apology but no monetary payment or damages of any kind. They have agreed, in exchange for the creation of this fund, to drop their pending lawsuit with prejudice, and also withdraw two administrative claims, including for damages resulting from the unlawful raid of Mar-a-Lago and the Russia-collusion hoax," read the DoJ statement.
The fund is worth $1.776 billion. Get it? 1776.
So while the president couldn’t receive money from this fund, his political allies and donors could.
All without congressional input.
"I realize it's a lot of money," said Sen. John Kennedy, R-La. "I want to understand where the money comes from. Do we find it in the budget? Do we have to borrow it? There's just a lot of unanswered questions."
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"What I want to know is how the fund is created and what its purpose is," said Sen. Jerry Moran, R-Kan.
"And (I want to know) the legality of creating a fund that Congress hasn't had anything to say about."
The government swept up the phone information of multiple Republican lawmakers after the January 6 riot as part of Operation Arctic Frost. That included the records of Sen. Bill Hagerty, R-Tenn. He defended the fund.
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"What we ought to be talking about is the reasons for the compensation. Weaponization of government that took place under former President Joe Biden was an absolute disgrace," said Hagerty.
Blanche formerly served as President Trump’s personal legal counsel. Lawmakers argued that Blanche reverted to that role when he created the compensation fund out of the ether.
"Mr. Attorney General, you are acting today like the president's personal attorney. And that's the whole problem," said Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md.
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"You're a very gifted lawyer. But from my perspective, you have very little faith to the Constitution and the people of America. And you're the president's consigliere," piled on Sen. Jack Reed D-R.I.
Lawmakers questioned who qualifies for compensation.
"Will individuals who assaulted Capitol Hill police officers be eligible for this fund?" asked Van Hollen.
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"Anybody in this country is eligible to apply if they believe they are a victim of weaponization," replied Blanche.
And that’s what concerned bipartisan lawmakers. The compensation conundrum instantly spilled over into a major bill, due to the hit the Senate floor.
Congressional Republicans were trying to pass a bill to finally address funding for ICE and Border Patrol, once and for all. But they planned to bypass a Democratic filibuster using a special process called budget reconciliation.
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The good thing about reconciliation is that you can pass a bill with 51 yeas and don’t need to clear the filibuster with 60 votes. The bad thing is that the reconciliation process entails what the Senate refers to as a "vote-a-rama." This is where senators can offer practically any amendment on any subject in a drawn-out process which might consume an entire calendar day.
Republicans freaked out that Democrats would force them to take controversial votes on the compensation fund. And frankly, many Republicans intended to author their own amendments to curb the fund – simultaneously inoculating themselves from blowback.
That political brew was too much for Senate Republicans.
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They summoned Blanche to Capitol Hill Thursday morning to explain the fund. The meeting didn’t go well. Fox is told that Sens. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, and Tom Cotton, R-Ark., were pointed in their comments to Blanche. Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., popped into the Capitol’s Ohio Clock Corridor en route to the meeting. Tillis was in mid-conversation. All anyone could hear Tillis say was "And I’m not voting for it!" as he walked by.
By early afternoon, Republican leaders scrapped the bill to fund Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and sent everyone home for Memorial Day. It was the biggest legislative rebuke of President Trump’s second term.
"I just don't know how this puppy dog will work," said Kennedy. "I think there were six or seven people who are going to vote no."
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Yet Republicans were practically on the verge of finally ending the ICE and Border Patrol funding impasse.
"The sole reason we are here today is because Democrats refused to fund law enforcement at the Department of Homeland Security," said Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D.
The debate over funding for the president’s ballroom wasn’t exactly the foxtrot for Senate Republicans. But the compensation fund converted the reconciliation process into the samba.
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No fancy footwork here. Republicans managed to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.
"There are a lot of questions about it. I have Republican colleagues who have concerns about who can receive funding from that fund," said Sen. Jim Banks, R-Ind.
However Banks noted that "every single Republican who was on the ballot like I was in the ‘24 cycle talked about stopping the weaponization of government."
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Democrats watched as Republicans blanched at what Blanche told them.
"I think my Republican colleagues have reached their limit," said Sen. Peter Welch, D-Vt.
Thune said the compensation fund "makes everything way harder than it should be." He declared that the White House should should have "consulted" with Congressional Republicans about the fund ahead of time. So deadlocked, Thune and House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., dismissed everyone until early June.
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"Republicans are so divided, so dysfunctional, so disorganized, that they are fleeing Washington. Their majority can't melt down fast enough," said Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.
However, some of the President’s allies defended the compensation fund.
"I feel comfortable that whose who have been wronged by their government should have some sort of redress," said Sen. Eric Schmidt, R-Mo.
And even though the president recently steamrolled some GOP foes politically, Republicans blocked him legislatively.
"We should have full review of what we're funding," said Rep. Ryan Zinke, R-Mont. "Congress has our obligation."
So President Trump may get the personnel he wants in Congress next year as Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., and Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., go by the wayside. But securing the policies may need to wait until the president’s preferred candidates are in place in 2027.
That’s why some lawmakers are questioning whether Congress can move any more meaningful legislation the rest of this year. Everything else from here on will be "way harder than it should be."
