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WASHINGTON — The Republican-led Senate is moving forward with legislation to fund immigration enforcement agencies after forcing the Trump administration to say it will drop its settlement fund for political allies and strip a separate proposal for White House security from the bill.
The Senate voted 53-46 on Wednesday to begin debate on the roughly $70 billion bill to fund U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Border Patrol. The legislation was delayed for weeks as Republican senators navigated the various obstacles to passage created by President Donald Trump and the White House, but they are now moving quickly to pass it after paring it back to its original form.
“Right now, the goal is to get the base bill across the finish line,” said Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D.
Still, Republicans will need to find enough votes to beat back multiple amendments that Democrats — and some Republicans — say they will offer to permanently ban Trump’s $1.776 billion settlement fund.
After fierce Republican pushback, acting Attorney General Todd Blanche told House lawmakers at a hearing Tuesday that “we are not moving forward with the fund, period.” But shortly after the Senate voted to move forward with the bill on Wednesday, Trump repeatedly defended the settlement in response to reporters’ questions at the White House.
When asked directly whether the fund is dead or just on hold, Trump responded: “I’d have to ask the lawyers, I don’t know.”
“I love it,” Trump said of the settlement. “I think it’s so important.”
Republicans are using a process called budget reconciliation that enables them to pass the legislation without any Democratic votes, but they must first wade through a long series of amendment votes that could pose problems for the bill. That process is expected to start Thursday.
DEMOCRATS: PUT IT IN WRITING
Republicans said they felt reassured by Blanche’s promises to scrap the fund, which was part of a settlement resolving Trump’s lawsuit against the IRS over the leak of his tax returns. GOP senators had revolted and left town two weeks ago after the Justice Department announced the payouts, which could potentially go to participants in the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol and other Trump allies.
Democrats say they want it written into the law.
“It is only a matter of time before Blanche and Trump go back on their word,” said Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., predicted Wednesday morning.
After Trump’s comments, Schumer posted on X that “this is EXACTLY why” Democrats would be forcing votes to ban it.
Some Republicans also planned to try and put Blanche’s promise in writing. Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., has said he will offer an amendment to block any attempt at resurrecting the fund.
“We’ve got a sufficient number of Republicans who have been very clear they’ve got concerns there,” said Tillis.
Tillis said he would file an amendment that would “render the fund inoperative.”
“This is a huge political liability,” Tillis said. “We just need to nip this. Whoever told the president it was a good idea made a mistake. We need to take action here. It’s creating headwinds that we don’t need.”
Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, echoed similar concerns regarding the fund, sharing a post on X about a Wall Street Journal editorial that urged Congress to block the fund entirely. The post stated: “The way to ensure the Trump retribution fund is more than mostly dead would be for Congress to put a stake through it.”
At one point, Associate Attorney General Stanley E. Woodward Jr. shared and then deleted a social media post by Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., suggesting that Congress create its own version of the fund. Woodward expressed support for the idea before later deleting his post.
“There are many victims of the weaponized Biden Justice Department throughout this country. … I am proposing that we create a weaponization fund that will be available to those who can prove their claim against the federal government through the Federal Tort Claims Act,” Graham wrote on X on late Tuesday.
“We’re on it,” Woodward said in his deleted response on X.
Thune said earlier on Wednesday that Blanche’s comments were “extremely helpful” and that he thought most GOP senators were satisfied. He said he was working with Tillis and others who have discussed amendments as he tries to ensure he has enough votes for a simple majority in the 53-47 Senate.
“Keep in mind, we’ve got to keep them all together, make sure we’ve got 50 votes for it,” Thune said.
BALLROOM FUNDS DROPPED
The legislation was also delayed by the opposition to $1 billion in security funding for the White House, including for Trump’s new ballroom, that was added to the original bill.
Democrats and some Republicans questioned using taxpayer money for the massive project in a time of economic hardship for many voters. Democrats had planned amendments to strip that language, as well.
As various side issues temporarily derailed the legislation, Republicans have said their top priority is passing the ICE and Border Patrol funding that Democrats have blocked for months in protest of the administration’s immigration enforcement crackdown.
But success requires GOP unity in the Senate and the House before it can reach Trump.
Republican House leaders said Wednesday they would like to pass the bill before the end of the week, if the Senate can finish it. House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., said that House leaders were having internal conversations about it.
“We just need to make sure everybody’s there,” Scalise said.
It was unclear how Trump’s comments on the settlement would affect Republicans’ votes on the immigration spending bill. In addition to defending the settlement, he also praised the Jan. 6 defendants who could get payouts, saying they had been subjected to “abuse.”
Even as Republican senators have strongly defended Trump’s agenda, a growing number of them have become frustrated with the president as he ignores what they see as their political needs.
The Justice Department announced the settlement fund just as the Senate had planned to move forward on the immigration spending bill, giving Democrats an opportunity to offer amendments that could divide Republicans in an election year. That came just as Sens. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana and Cornyn both lost reelection bids after Trump endorsed their primary opponents.
Information for this article was contributed by Mary Clare Jalonick, Kevin Freking, Joey Cappelletti, Seung Min Kim and Lisa Mascaro of The Associated Press; and by Jarrell Dillard and Sammy Westfall of The Washington Post.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., joined from left by Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., and Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla., speaks to reporters after a closed-door meeting with fellow Republicans, at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, June 2, 2026. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., heads to the chamber following a closed-door meeting with fellow Republicans, at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, June 2, 2026. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin testifies before the House Committee on Homeland Security during a hearing on the Fiscal 2027 budget request for the Department of Homeland Security, in Washington, Wednesday, June 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Cliff Owen)
