A motion introduced by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer on Thursday to permanently stop the Trump administration from setting up a controversial $1.8 billion compensation fund failed in a 49-50 vote.
“With the whole country watching, Republicans chose to support this corrupt slush fund,†Schumer, D-N.Y., wrote on X moments after the motion failed to pass despite gaining support from three Republican senators: Susan Collins of Maine, Jon Husted of Ohio and Dan Sullivan of Alaska.
To pass, Schumer's amendment to a Republican-led $72 billion bill for immigration enforcement spending needed 50 votes in a chamber where Republicans hold a narrow 53-47 majority.
Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Colo., did not vote despite being the first signatory on a letter to Internal Revenue Service CEO Frank Bisignano and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Tuesday saying the part of the DOJ settlement that grants the Trump family immunity from tax audits is likely illegal. That aspect of the agreement remains intact, acting Attorney General Todd Blanche testified to lawmakers this week.
Schumer’s failed measure sought to ban the controversial $1.8 billion “Anti-Weaponization Fund” the Justice Department established in May as part of a settlement that dismissed Trump's $10 billion lawsuit against the IRS over leaks of his 2019 and 2020 tax returns.Â
The Justice Department agreed to establish the fund to compensate individuals who claimed they suffered from government “weaponization†and the misuse of the legal system for political purposes. Potential fund claimants could have included people who participated in the Jan. 6 breach of the Capitol in 2021, about 1,500 of whom were charged with crimes and later pardoned by Trump. More than 1,200 were convicted of offenses.
“Obviously the Republican leadership is rallying around Donald Trump, rallying around this $1.8 billion boondoggle, this cash-for-criminals program, which Trump and his allies can use to reimburse Proud Boys, reimburse Oath Keepers, reimburse the people who attacked this Capitol, the insurrectionists, all the latter-day KKK allies of Donald Trump,†Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., told CNN after the vote.
“And the Republicans today are siding with Donald Trump, siding with his desire to keep this on track and preserve his prerogatives to have this $1.8 billion be dispensed in any way he wants,†he added.
Senators defeated a second amendment from Republican Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina that would also ban the settlement fund but would move the money to a separate anti-fraud fund at the Department of Justice. Most Democrats voted against the amendment, guaranteeing its defeat, but more than 10 Republicans supported it.
More votes on the settlement fund are planned, including other proposals from Republicans, and it was unclear if GOP leaders would be able to fend them all off and pass the legislation.
Blanche said Tuesday the Justice Department would not move forward with the fund, following bipartisan outcry. But he has thus far declined to put it in writing.
Several Democratic lawmakers on Wednesday expressed concerns that Blanche couldn't be taken at his word. And Trump seemed to also cast doubt on a permanent end to the fund Wednesday when he told CNN “I don't know†when asked if the fund is dead or only on hold.
Speaking with reporters in the Oval Office on Wednesday, Trump described the fund as “so important,†saying the Jan. 6 rioters who stood to receive compensation “have been abused.â€
Earlier this week, Schumer promised to force a vote on the compensation fund or tie it to the GOP immigration bill.
Senate Republicans are using a budget maneuver called reconciliation to fund Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol through the end of Trump's term without Democratic support.
Such a move requires a level of GOP unity that has been in flux because of the $1.8 billion settlement fund that has drawn criticism from a handful of Republican senators who could tip the vote, including Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., and John Cornyn, R-Texas. Both lost their primary elections last month, beaten by Trump-backed challengers.
“We are here today only, only because Democrats refuse to appropriate a single dollar for our border and immigration law enforcement,†Thune said to the Senate on Thursday prior to a protracted vote on the immigration funding package.
A federal judge temporarily blocked the compensation fund last week. Two other lawsuits over the fund filed by officers who defended the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 and the watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington are still active and pending.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
