Republicans grapple with fresh Trump settlement fund fallout
The political fight over President Donald Trump’s settlement fund has resurfaced on Capitol Hill even after the Department of justice said “lawfare” victims would no longer receive federal payouts. Republicans have largely calmed down following DOJ’s decision, but Democrats and some Republicans are trying to ensure the fund can’t be brought back later.
In the Senate,the dispute is tangled with negotiations over keeping the government funded past the fall. Democrats are pushing to block the fund through amendments and related votes in the appropriations process,while Republicans resist calling it a “poison pill.” The broader impasse is also driven by disagreement over overall spending levels, notably defense priorities requested by the president.
In the House, rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA) is collecting signatures for a petition to force a vote to block the fund outside the usual appropriations route. Independent Rep. Kevin Kiley (I-CA) and Rep. Don bacon (R-NE) indicate they may join,which-along with Democrats-could bring the matter to the floor with only a bare majority.
Republican lawmakers remain split on whether congressional action would matter,with some arguing a president could override limits through vetoes.Meanwhile, House and Senate attention is also focused on immigration enforcement funding and the risk that GOP leadership will face additional political setbacks as rank-and-file members continue to bypass party-controlled procedures.
The political fallout over President Donald Trump‘s settlement fund is spreading on Capitol Hill despite the Department of Justice‘s assurances that “lawfare” victims will no longer receive payouts from the federal government.
Partisan fighting over the fund is seeping into delicate Senate negotiations to keep the government open past the fall. Democrats want a vote to block its creation, something Republicans are rejecting as a “poison pill.” In the House, Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA) is gathering signatures to force a similar vote outside of the regular appropriations process.
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The DOJ shelved the fund last week, helping calm the nerves of Republicans upset over its expected payouts to Jan. 6 defendants. And for a moment, it seemed as though Republicans successfully moved past the controversy. The House passed an immigration enforcement bill that had been derailed by the fund on Tuesday, sending the bill to Trump’s desk.
Yet Democrats refuse to take the administration at its word and want to prevent Trump from resurrecting it at a later date. They’re joined by a handful of Republicans who could soon end-run GOP leadership’s control of the House floor.
Rep. Kevin Kiley (I-CA), an independent who caucuses with the Republicans, told the Washington Examiner he would support Fitzpatrick’s petition to block the fund, while Rep. Don Bacon (R-NE) said he’s “inclined” to as well. It takes just a bare majority to bring the petition to the floor, and all Democrats are expected to join Fitzpatrick.
The impasse in the Senate is less about the settlement fund. Appropriators are having trouble agreeing on how large the budget will be when Congress begins a new fiscal year in October, largely due to the president’s request for more defense spending.
But Democrats want the ability to offer amendments as part of that process, meaning a vote on the “anti-weaponization” fund. Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA), the ranking member of the Appropriations Committee, told reporters that Democrats also want votes on Trump’s planned East Wing ballroom, food assistance programs, and affordability measures that touch on gas and fertilizer prices.
Sen. Brian Schatz (D-HI), a senior appropriator, predicted it would be “very hard” for Democrats to support funding for the DOJ unless Congress passes the “anti-weaponization” fund language later this year.
The impasse is unfolding alongside fallout over the immigration enforcement vote. Senate Republican leaders managed to pass funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement on Friday without any new guardrails on the fund, as some rank-and-file members had been demanding.
But that does not mean Republicans feel comfortable with the DOJ’s assurances that it’s dead.
Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC), who unsuccessfully tried to kill the fund during the Senate’s “vote-a-rama,” sent a blistering email to colleagues on Monday warning that Republicans’ failure to do so would be a “political albatross” for them on the campaign trail this fall.
Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) suggested the only reason he wasn’t supporting efforts to restrict the fund legislatively is because Trump could beat back any congressional attempt to do so.
“Well, I mean, can you overcome a presidential veto? I don’t know,” Cornyn told the Washington Examiner.
He is among those questioning whether the DOJ will attempt to revive the fund at a later date.
As for the House, Fitzpatrick voted for the ICE funding bill as well, but his petition virtually guarantees the problem is not going away for Republican leadership. Fitzpatrick said Tuesday he is still ironing out language for his petition and that it could be released this week.
“We’re going to try our best,” he said.
If Fitzpatrick is successful, it would be the latest black eye for House GOP leadership as rank-and-file Republicans keep thwarting their control of the floor with the petitions.
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House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-LA) urged members of his party to go through the regular committee process if they want their legislation to get a vote, telling the Washington Examiner that’s “what the regular order is around here.”
“You might not always get the result you want when you go to committee, but that is the legislative process, and that’s what I surely urge we do,” he said.
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