1,776,000,000 dollars: President Donald Trump’s proposed $1.776 billion "anti-weaponization" settlement fund was effectively suspended after a federal judge temporarily blocked payouts and the administration signaled it would abandon the plan amid an intra-party revolt. The fund, created by the Justice Department as part of a settlement with the Internal Revenue Service, was tied to a $72 billion package to finance U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol, prompting several Senate Republicans to demand the settlement be killed or tightly restricted. Republican dissent also scuttled a separate $1 billion White House ballroom request. Leaders said they would press the White House for restrictions or for the administration to drop the settlement provision when lawmakers return from the Memorial Day recess in June.

1,776,000,000 dollars was the amount the Justice Department set aside under a settlement with the Internal Revenue Service to compensate people the administration said were victims of government "weaponization." A federal judge issued a temporary injunction stopping the department from making payouts, and the Justice Department said it disagreed with the order but would abide by it.

The settlement was framed by the administration as a remedy for individuals who believed they had been unfairly targeted by government agencies, and the Justice Department said eligibility would be open regardless of political affiliation. The proposal drew an immediate legal challenge and a court ruling that halted the program pending further review. Reuters reported on June 1 that President Trump planned to drop the initiative, citing two senior administration officials and describing the effort as "dead for now." Critics raised concerns about optics and a risk of perceived self-dealing because the settlement stemmed from litigation between the government and the president.

Those legal and reputational questions fed political resistance on Capitol Hill. Senators from the president's own party argued the settlement could be used to compensate controversial figures, including people convicted of crimes related to the January 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol. Several senators demanded explicit limits to prevent payouts to anyone convicted of assaulting law enforcement during that riot.

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Republican revolt and the stalled immigration package

The settlement provision helped topple a larger funding push. Senate leaders put a $72 billion bill to finance ICE and Border Patrol on hold in late May after Republican senators objected to the inclusion of the settlement money and a separate $1 billion request to build a White House ballroom. Senator Thom Tillis of North Carolina criticized the proposal on May 23, saying it could pay people who had been convicted and later pardoned and that, "The American people are going to reject this out of hand."

Senator John Thune, the majority leader, said he lacked the votes for the ballroom funding and described the immigration bill as having become "more complicated" after the additions. Facing pressure from colleagues and from rank-and-file House Republicans worried about tough re-election fights, some lawmakers labeled the ballroom and settlement measures "poison pills" for broader support.

On the House side, Representative Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania and Representative Tom Suozzi of New York filed legislation aimed at barring payments from the settlement fund. Democrats signaled they would press amendments to strip the settlement from any final legislation, setting up a partisan fight that could decide whether the fund survives in any form.

The political impasse had immediate procedural consequences. Senate Republicans walked away from a scheduled vote on the immigration enforcement measure in late May and delayed action until lawmakers returned from the Memorial Day recess in June.

In the interim, the White House and Justice Department faced pressure from both the courts and members of the president's party to either accept strict conditions on who could be paid or to abandon the fund entirely.

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Senate leaders said they will press the White House for restrictions or for the administration to drop the settlement provision when lawmakers return from the Memorial Day recess in June. Originally reported by Reuters.

This article was created with AI assistance.