{"id":2605712,"date":"2026-05-22T06:38:01","date_gmt":"2026-05-22T10:38:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/gop-points-finger-at-white-house-for-immigration-bill-blunder\/"},"modified":"2026-05-22T06:38:54","modified_gmt":"2026-05-22T10:38:54","slug":"gop-points-finger-at-white-house-for-immigration-bill-blunder","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/gop-points-finger-at-white-house-for-immigration-bill-blunder\/","title":{"rendered":"GOP points finger at White House for immigration bill blunder"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">20<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fgop-points-finger-at-white-house-for-immigration-bill-blunder%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2605712&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The week turned chaotic for Senate Republicans, beginning with Sen. Bill Cassidy\u2019s loss to a Trump-backed challenger and worsening as multiple Trump and GOP initiatives hit backlash.<\/p>\n<p>Early on, the department of Justice announced a $1.<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/trump-may-release-his-tax-returns-after-irs-settlement\/\" title=\"Trump &#039;may release&#039; his tax returns after IRS settlement\">8 billion \u201canti-weaponization\u201d fund<\/a> meant to compensate purported Biden-era \u201clawfare\u201d victims, with critics warning it could also cover people tied to the Jan. 6 Capitol riot. At the same time,Trump snubbed longtime GOP Sen. John Cornyn while endorsing Cornyn\u2019s opponent, and the party\u2019s $70 billion immigration enforcement bill became unstable over disputes tied to a reported $220 million ballroom\/security funding request Trump wanted.<\/p>\n<p>By thursday, senators effectively paused, leaving a contentious reconciliation push after closed-door meetings and GOP leadership opted to avoid a larger rebellion over \u201cpolitically toxic\u201d provisions. Majority Leader John Thune argued the issue cannot be separated from the broader political climate, while Mitch McConnell condemned the DOJ fund as a \u201cslush fund\u201d for paying people who assaulted police.<\/p>\n<p>Republicans also remained divided on whether and how to trim the White House\/Capitol security money and how to limit eligibility for settlement payouts, including concern that Capitol rioters accused of police assaults might qualify.democrats prepared to force tough amendment votes that could have derailed the bill with GOP defectors, but leadership chose to stop the process until after the Memorial Day recess.<\/p>\n<p>Behind the scenes, senators said the DOJ settlement announcement and lobbying by acting attorney General Todd Blanche failed to provide sufficient guardrails. Senators like Susan Collins pressed for clarity after Blanche allegedly suggested Capitol rioters would be ineligible, while Thune said GOP leadership was not consulted ahead of the fund\u2019s release. Trump\u2019s ongoing personal political grievances with Republicans viewed as insufficiently loyal-including Cassidy and Cornyn-further intensified internal strain.<\/p>\n<p>In the House, Speaker Mike Johnson signaled Republicans were planning their next reconciliation efforts instead of pushing further promptly, saying the Senate needs more time for consensus while the House works toward a future reconciliation package.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<article class=\"fn-body\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The week began with Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA) <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/senate\/4573703\/bill-cassidy-no-regrets-after-primary-loss\/\">losing his primary<\/a> to a Trump-backed challenger. It went only downhill from there for Senate Republicans.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">On Monday, the Department of Justice unveiled a <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/finance\/4577926\/todd-blanche-lobby-gop-senators-on-antiweaponization-fund\/\">$1.8 billion \u201canti-weaponization\u201d fund<\/a> to compensate Biden-era \u201clawfare\u201d victims, including possibly for U.S. Capitol rioters. President Donald Trump <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/congressional\/4575122\/senate-gop-fumes-trump-endorses-ken-paxton-texas\/\">snubbed Sen. John Cornyn<\/a> (R-TX) to endorse GOP opponent Ken Paxton on Tuesday. By Wednesday, the GOP\u2019s $70 billion immigration enforcement bill was on <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/senate\/4577358\/gop-weighs-scrubbing-security-funding-immigration-bill\/\">shaky ground over $220 million in ballroom security funding<\/a> that Trump wanted.<\/p>\n<section class=\"explore-more-section\" id=\"wex-recommended-widget\">\n<div class=\"magazine-container single\">\n<h1 class=\"magazine-title mt-2\">Recommended Stories<\/h1>\n<p>             <i class=\"fa-solid fa-play icon\"><\/i>         <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-grid\">\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/infrastructure\/4577734\/watch-live-sean-duffy-transportation-budget-house-testimony\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>WATCH LIVE: Duffy testifies on transportation budget in House Appropriations Committee hearing<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/infrastructure\/4577454\/dot-amtrak-developer-penn-station-renovation\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>DOT and Amtrak pick \u2018master developer\u2019 to lead $8 billion Penn Station renovation<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/infrastructure\/4575431\/sean-duffy-anti-fraud-registration-trucking\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Sean Duffy debuts anti-fraud registration system for trucking industry<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The turbulent week ended on Thursday, when <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/senate\/4578428\/senate-punts-immigration-enforcement-vote\/\">senators headed for the exit<\/a>, following contentious <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/finance\/4577926\/todd-blanche-lobby-gop-senators-on-antiweaponization-fund\/\">closed-door meetings<\/a> 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\u2019t return until June 1, after a more than weeklong Memorial Day recess.<\/p>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIt was something that was supposed to be very narrow, targeted, focused, clean, straightforward,\u201d Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) said. \u201cIt\u2019s hard to divorce anything that happens here from what\u2019s happening in the political atmosphere around us.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Thune\u2019s predecessor offered a more blunt assessment.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cSo the nation\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/after-whitmer-ally-rejects-call-for-investigation-gop-hints-at-funding-special-prosecutor\/\" title=\"After Whitmer Ally Rejects Call For Investigation, GOP Hints At Funding Special Prosecutor\">top law enforcement official<\/a> is asking for a slush fund to pay people who assault cops?\u201d Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY), the former longtime GOP leader, said of the DOJ fund in a rare statement. \u201cUtterly stupid, morally wrong \u2014 Take your pick.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In the Oval Office, Trump deflected whether he was \u201closing control\u201d of the GOP-led Senate.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI don\u2019t know, I really don\u2019t,\u201d the president told reporters. \u201cI can tell you, I only do what\u2019s right.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">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.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">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.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cRepublicans are in complete disarray,\u201d Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said. \u201cThey\u2019re at each other\u2019s throats, and the American people are suffering for it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But the timing of the anti-weaponization fund, created as part of a settlement over Trump\u2019s lawsuit against the IRS for leaking his tax returns, came amid underlying tensions from the campaign trail and Trump\u2019s ballroom that pushed Republicans to their limit. They placed the blame on the White House, which <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/white-house\/4578599\/white-house-meeting-gop-leadership-canceled\/\">canceled a Thursday meeting<\/a> with GOP lawmakers in response to the uproar.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThere is a tremendous amount of frustration because DOJ didn\u2019t need to settle the case when they did and didn\u2019t need to announce this fund,\u201d a senior GOP aide told the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Thune placed the onus on the administration or the DOJ \u201cto come up with some suggestions and ideas\u201d for policy guardrails on the settlement fund.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">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.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cYeah, we\u2019re going home,\u201d Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA) said.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">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. (AP Photo\/Allison Robbert)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Senate Appropriations Committee Chair Susan Collins (R-ME), facing a battleground reelection, raised the alarm to Blanche about Capitol rioters receiving compensation. Collins said she needed more clarity after Blanche \u201cseemed\u201d 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.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">To make matters worse, Republicans were already stewing over Trump\u2019s revenge tour against those he\u2019s accused of being insufficiently loyal, including Cassidy and Cornyn.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThere\u2019s a political component to everything we do around here,\u201d Thune said. \u201cYou can\u2019t disconnect those things.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/senate\/4578428\/senate-punts-immigration-enforcement-vote\/\">SENATE PUNTS IMMIGRATION ENFORCEMENT VOTE OVER \u2018ANTI-WEAPONIZATION\u2019 FUND OUTRAGE<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Over in the House, Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) kept his powder dry. His focus was on crafting a possible third reconciliation bill \u2014 the first was Trump\u2019s mega tax law last year, and the ongoing immigration measure is their second \u2014 that Republicans could focus on next before the November midterm elections.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe Senate clearly needs a little bit more time to find consensus on reconciliation 2.0,\u201d Johnson said. \u201cMeanwhile, in the House, we\u2019re working on reconciliation 3.0 to have that one ready to go.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Lauren Green and Hailey Bullis contributed to this report.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Week started with Cassidy\u2019s primary loss, then DOJ unveiled a $1.8B \u201canti-weaponization\u201d fund<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3204,"featured_media":2605713,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/AP26056168244837.jpg?w=696","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[33709,6203,3813,4762,32127],"class_list":["post-2605712","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-border-security","tag-gop","tag-immigration","tag-legislation","tag-white-house"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/AP26056168244837.jpg?w=696","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2605712","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3204"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2605712"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2605712\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2605716,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2605712\/revisions\/2605716"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2605713"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2605712"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2605712"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2605712"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}