Welcome back to the bad place.
After leaving town late last month for a one-week recess, House and Senate GOP leaders are returning to a slew of familiar problems threatening to leave their midterm-year agenda stalled in perennial limbo.
Republicans’ party-line immigration enforcement bill is stuck because of President Donald Trump’s $1.8 billion “Anti-Weaponization Fund” and there’s a mini-rebellion brewing over an Iran war powers resolution that, if adopted, would be politically embarrassing for the president (more on that below).
That’s to say nothing of the full-time task of managing internal GOP frustrations after a trio of incumbents fell to Trump-blessed challengers in the last two weeks.
And while there’s optimism about getting a deal to reauthorize a government spy authority before it expires June 12, there’s lingering cross-chamber divisions over a bipartisan housing bill, with the Senate eyeing changes to the latest House offer.
The biggest challenge for GOP leaders: The fate of their $72 billion immigration enforcement spending package. Senate Republicans delayed passage last month as a critical mass of their members were prepared to support Senate Democrats’ amendments to narrow or nix the Justice Department’s fund, which officials have said could be used to pay out individuals who attacked the Capitol Jan. 6, 2021.
That could have threatened the entire bill, either on Capitol Hill or with Trump, who has defended the pot of money to help those “badly abused by an evil, corrupt, and weaponized Biden Administration.”
Instead, Senate Republicans expect the administration to unveil modifications to the fund, according to three people granted anonymity to discuss the matter — if not announce they are nixing the account altogether. If the administration can quickly resolve the situation, Senate Republicans are prepared to kick off vote-a-rama as soon as Wednesday, according to a person with knowledge of the schedule.
And while it’s not impossible that Senate Republicans could propose their own guardrails if the administration refuses to play ball, that would come with its own political complications for GOP leaders. Another possible idea under discussion, according to two people with knowledge of the talks, is removing all of the Justice Department funding from the bill.
Moreover, Friday’s court ruling to temporarily block the fund from being tapped doesn’t change the calculus within the Senate GOP Conference, according to two people granted anonymity to describe internal party dynamics.
But so far, the White House and DOJ have been largely mum. A White House official told us late last week the administration “appreciated” last month’s conversation between GOP senators and acting Attorney General Todd Blanche and all the “feedback.”
“We look forward to additional conversations as needed,” the official added.
The Justice Department didn’t respond to a request for comment.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, meanwhile, is showing no signs of backing down, telling his caucus in a “Dear Colleague” letter this morning that they are launching “a coordinated effort to kill the slush fund before one cent goes out the door. And no matter what Republicans do, we will force them to vote.”
It’s also causing drama in the House, where a group of bipartisan lawmakers are vowing to “kill” the fund as others want a commitment that payouts won’t be made to people who assaulted police officers during the Capitol attack.
What else we’re watching:
— GOP HARD-LINERS WANT URGENCY ON TRANS BILLS: GOP hard-liners who promised voters they’d use their new majority in Washington to enact anti-trans legislation are increasingly frustrated their leaders don’t seem to share the same commitment. A record number of bills that would roll back access to health care, sports participation and military service for transgender individuals have been introduced over the last year and a half after Republicans spent tens of millions of dollars campaigning on the issue in 2024.
— PEACE PLAN LOOMS OVER WAR POWERS VOTES: Congress is set to weigh in on the Iran war again this week. The question is whether a developing peace plan to end the conflict will sway enough Republicans against handing Trump a political loss.
Connor O’Brien and Paul McLeary contributed to this report.
