Senate Narrowly Rejects Bid To Bar Trump’s $1.8bn Payout Fund — For Now

Senate Republicans on Thursday narrowly defeated a Democratic effort to block President Donald Trump from establishing a $1.8bn fund intended to pay his allies, even as signs emerged that opposition to the proposal is spreading within the GOP.

What happened: Democratic Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer sought to attach language to Republican-backed legislation funding immigration enforcement that would bar any payouts from the proposed fund for the duration of Mr Trump’s term. After a tense three-hour vote and visible conversations among senators on the chamber floor, the amendment failed 49-50. Three Republican senators — Susan Collins (Maine), Dan Sullivan (Alaska) and Jon Husted (Ohio) — broke with their party to join the full Democratic caucus in supporting the ban.

The White House has described the proposal as an "anti-weaponization" fund that could be used to issue financial settlements to people connected to the January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol. That plan has split Senate Republicans and complicated efforts to finalize funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP), agencies central to the administration's hardline immigration agenda.

Facing bipartisan criticism, acting US attorney general Todd Blanche told lawmakers earlier this week that the administration would not move forward with the fund for now. Schumer responded that only a statutory ban enacted by Congress would prevent the money from ever being spent, so the issue is likely to resurface in future negotiations.

Other notable developments

• Vaccine research under scrutiny: Three scientific papers cited by the administration to support controversial vaccine-policy changes have been removed, retracted or placed under investigation by their publishing journals in the past two months.
• Justice Department controversy: Former Florida attorney general Pam Bondi told lawmakers that Todd Blanche — whom the administration has elevated within Justice Department ranks — was "in charge" of the department's disputed handling of the Jeffrey Epstein matter.
• Intelligence leadership: Mr Trump said his ally Bill Pulte, whom he appointed acting director of national intelligence earlier this week, will investigate alleged "rigged elections" while serving in a temporary capacity.
• Student loan rule challenged: The administration argues caps on federal student loans will lower tuition, but public-health officials and Democrats say the change risks worsening the nursing shortage. Twenty-four Democratic-led states and Washington, D.C., have sued to block a new rule set to take effect on 1 July.
• State and international items: California's governor race remains unresolved as officials count unprocessed primary ballots; Democratic Senate hopeful Graham Platner denied allegations of abusive behavior toward women; Hezbollah rejected a US-brokered ceasefire plan in Lebanon; and Mexico's former president Andrés Manuel López Obrador accused US officials of seeking to weaken his party amid probes of several governors.
• Oversight and protests: The Senate finance committee's ranking member has demanded transparency after reporting about a proposed ICE family and child detention center in Alexandria, Louisiana. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau removed at least 2,200 webpages last month, and protests in Albania over a Jared Kushner–backed resort are set to intensify.

What’s next: With the amendment defeated but the administration signaling it will not immediately pursue the fund, Congress faces ongoing negotiations. Lawmakers from both parties are likely to revisit statutory language and oversight measures as part of broader budget and policy talks.