WASHINGTON (AP) 鈥� A standoff between the White House and the Senate remains unresolved after Republican senators without passing legislation to fund President Donald Trump鈥檚 immigration enforcement agencies.
Senate Republicans who are returning to Washington on Monday say they won鈥檛 have the votes to pass the Homeland Security spending bill until the White House works with them to place parameters on a new designed to compensate Trump鈥檚 allies. But Trump has shown little interest in doing so, even after a judge .
It鈥檚 unclear how they will settle the dispute.
The Trump administration is 鈥済oing to have to come up with some suggestions and ideas,鈥� Senate Majority Leader John Thune said before the Senate left town on May 21. Thune, of South Dakota, said that the settlement money 鈥� some of which could potentially go to Trump supporters who beat police and 鈥� 鈥渏ust makes everything way harder than it should be.鈥�
The impasse over the 鈥渁nti-weaponization鈥� fund could be an inflection point as Republicans try to keep their majority in this year鈥檚 elections and advance their agenda. Trump鈥檚 campaign year push to defeat GOP lawmakers who he sees as disloyal, including some of Thune鈥檚 most reliable Republican votes in the narrow 53-47 Senate, has only added to the tension.
and both lost reelection in May after Trump endorsed their primary opponents, and it is unclear how supportive they will be of the president鈥檚 agenda going forward. And a growing number of GOP senators have become as he ignores what they see as their political needs.
鈥淚 think it鈥檚 hard to divorce anything that happens here from what鈥檚 happening in the political atmosphere around us,鈥� Thune said.
Democrats have said they plan to offer several amendments to the immigration bill to scale back or eliminate the settlement. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York said in a letter to colleagues Monday morning that Democrats will launch 鈥渁 coordinated effort to kill the slush fund before one cent goes out the door.鈥�
鈥淣o matter what Republicans do, we will force them to vote on it,鈥� he wrote.
As anger among Senate Republicans swelled, Trump made clear that he wasn鈥檛 highly concerned.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 care about the midterms,鈥� Trump said last week in .
Senate Republicans draw lines on settlement fund
At a closed-door meeting with acting Attorney General Todd Blanche before they left town, Republican senators gave an ultimatum of sorts 鈥� put some limits on the settlement or we will do it for you.
GOP senators had been discussing several ways that they could curb the fund, including limiting who can receive payouts, changing the makeup of the commission in charge of settlement decisions, adding some sort of judicial review for applicants or scrapping the fund altogether. Republicans have discussed adding parameters on the settlement to the unrelated immigration enforcement measure but would prefer that the White House make changes on its own.
There were few sings of progress over the Memorial Day recess.
Sen. Todd Young of Indiana told The Associated Press last week that he hadn鈥檛 seen any indications 鈥渢hat would suggest they sent us a plan that our leadership thought was acceptable.鈥�
鈥淚t鈥檚 in their court,鈥� Young said of the White House.
Sen. Bill Hagerty of Tennessee said on Fox New Channel’s 鈥淔ox News Sunday鈥� that there are discussions underway 鈥渢o get to something that鈥檚 going to work.鈥�
鈥淚 think there were just more details and more questions last week that needed to be resolved,鈥� Hagerty said, adding that 鈥淚鈥檓 looking forward to seeing the details this coming week.鈥�
Acting attorney general spars with the Senate
Blanche told the AP in an interview Thursday that 鈥渁 lot of the questions will be answered in the short term.鈥� But he would not elaborate, saying that 鈥渢alking in hypotheticals is something that I don鈥檛 think is fair to the process.鈥�
The acting attorney general鈥檚 meeting with senators before they left town was 鈥渁ngry,鈥� according to Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, who described it on his podcast. Cruz said that of around 45 Senate Republicans who attended, 鈥渁t least half of them were blasting the attorney general.鈥�
The Senate had planned to stay in session late that night to vote on the immigration spending bill, but leaders canceled votes and sent everyone home. Cruz said Republican senators were 鈥測elling鈥� and told Blanche that the fund, which was part of a settlement that resolves Trump鈥檚 over the leak of his tax returns, 鈥渇eels like self-dealing” and “feels like Trump cut a deal with himself.鈥�
Cruz, who said he supports the fund, noted that Democrats had said they would offer amendments to kill it. Republicans “would have lost every vote鈥� if they had stayed in session, he said.
He predicted that 鈥渨e will see the administration announcing at a minimum a modification of this, because if they don鈥檛, they鈥檝e got a full-on revolt in the Senate.鈥�
Jan. 6 defendants could get settlements
Cruz said that there were a lot of questions from senators about the Jan. 6 defendants and that Blanche reassured them that no one who committed an act of violence or assaulted law enforcement would get a payout. But Blanche has repeatedly declined to say that publicly, telling the AP that 鈥渢here is no limit to who can apply.鈥�
Asked about people who were violent on Jan. 6, Blanche suggested that might be too hard to define.
鈥淲ho is it? I mean, you tell me, right?鈥� Blanche said. 鈥淵ou have to define something and then stick to it. So that鈥檚 something I鈥檝e been hesitant to try to do because it鈥檚 very fact intensive.鈥�
Trump has pardoned more than 1,500 defendants who were charged and prosecuted in the 2021 attack, including hundreds who were convicted for as they broke into the Capitol.
Unity on immigration enforcement derailed by other issues
The divide over the fund comes after Republicans already abandoned for the White House, including for , as Democrats and questioned using taxpayer money for the massive project at a time of economic hardship. Besides the settlement, Democrats had planned to force Republican senators to vote for or against the ballroom money.
Left in the legislation is funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol, which Democrats have blocked for months in protest of the administration鈥檚 .
Republicans are called reconciliation to fund the agencies through the end of Trump鈥檚 term without Democratic support. Still, success requires GOP unity and Trump鈥檚 eventual signature.
Democrats say they hope that their Republican colleagues continue to stand up to the White House. Sen. Gary Peters of Michigan said last week that he thinks the settlement fund is 鈥漰robably one of the most corrupt things that we鈥檝e ever seen an American president do.鈥�
It is 鈥渁 bridge too far for some of my Republican Senate colleagues,鈥� Peters said. “I hope they realize that what was done is simply unacceptable and that they鈥檒l stand firm.鈥�
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Associated Press writers Steven Sloan and Joey Cappelletti in Washington and Jamie Stengle in Dallas contributed to this report.
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