The Trump administration is moving to kill its own $1.8 billion anti-weaponization fund, an administration official told Axios, describing the program as “dead for now.” The retreat came after Republican defections threatened to sink the broader $70 billion immigration enforcement bill entirely.
The decision followed a Monday morning meeting between President Trump and House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.). Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) confirmed that lawmakers were discussing the fund’s fate with the White House, though he said he did not know whether the administration planned to scrap it entirely.
The fund, created as part of Trump’s settlement with the IRS, lets people who believe the judiciary has been weaponized against them apply for financial relief. A court had already frozen all disbursements on May 30 while legal challenges proceeded. Killing it now would not end the litigation, meaning it could still be revived.
The applicant roster fed the political problem. Known claimants have included Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio, January 6 rioters, and former congressman George Santos. Trump’s attorney Todd Blanche lobbied Republican lawmakers to back the fund even as more of them broke publicly against it. Some of those Republicans are now expected to vote for Democratic amendments to the immigration bill that would restrict or eliminate the fund, a bloc large enough to keep leadership from bringing the legislation to a floor vote.
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Democrats moved quickly to widen that fracture. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) sent a letter to Democratic colleagues Monday laying out a coordinated push to neutralize the fund before any money moves.
“Senate Democrats will launch a coordinated effort to kill the slush fund before one cent goes out the door,” Schumer said. He framed the coming votes as a forced choice for the GOP. “Democrats are forcing Republicans to make one simple choice. kill the slush fund or own it.”
The calculation is nakedly political. Schumer wants vulnerable Republicans on the record before midterm elections, and the fund’s applicant list gives him the material to make that vote painful.
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