Trump’s “anti-weaponization fund” torpedoes ICE funding deal

AXIOS·May 21 ago·3 min read

Photograph via Axios

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$72 billion in funding for ICE and Border Patrol is now in limbo after GOP senators revolted against President Trump's $1.776B "anti-weaponization fund" on Thursday.Why it matters: The fund was dropped like "a bomb in the middle of a pretty well planned out reconciliation bill," Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) told reporters.Zoom in: The package for ICE and Border Patrol funding was on track to pass by the weekend.But senators left town without voting on Thursday after a heated two-hour meeting with acting Attorney General Todd Blanche."[T]hey need to help with this issue, because we have a lot of members who are concerned," Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) told Punchbowl News about the White House and the fund. "Somebody described it as a galactic blunder, and I think that's probably true," Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wisc.) told CNN.Between the lines: The Senate spent the first few days of the week trying to decide what to do about the $1 billion for security upgrades related to the White House ballroom.As of Wednesday that funding had been stripped, Axios reported. But the Senate has yet to release text of the budget bill ahead of a vote-a-rama.The bottom line: I'm not sure the fund should exist," said Sen. Bill Cassidy, who lost his Louisiana GOP primary on Saturday as part of Trump's revenge tour.