A $72 billion funding package for Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol stalled in the Senate after Republicans rejected President Trump's proposal for a $1.776 billion "anti-weaponization fund" embedded in the legislation.
The dispute erupted Thursday following a contentious two-hour meeting between senators and acting Attorney General Todd Blanche. Lawmakers left town without voting, pushing the measure's passage beyond the weekend.
Trump's fund, intended to cover White House ballroom security upgrades, caught senators off guard. "It was dropped like a bomb in the middle of a pretty well planned out reconciliation bill," said Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune acknowledged the White House needed to address growing concerns among Republicans. "Somebody described it as a galactic blunder, and I think that's probably true," said Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin.
The Senate had spent early in the week grappling with the $1 billion in ballroom security funding. By Wednesday, that money had been stripped from the bill, according to reporting. However, the full budget bill text remained unreleased as lawmakers prepared for what would have been a series of amendments votes.
Sen. Bill Cassidy, a Louisiana Republican, openly questioned the fund's necessity. "I'm not sure the fund should exist," he said. Cassidy had lost his GOP primary in the previous election as part of Trump's political purge.
The collapse of the spending agreement threatens one of the administration's early legislative priorities and exposes fractures within the Republican caucus over Trump's spending requests.
Author James Rodriguez: "Embedding a controversial fund like this without Senate buy-in is political malpractice, and it's stunning the White House didn't anticipate this blowback."
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