Republicans stall votes on partisan ICE funding amid party infighting

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., spoke to reporters in the Capitol on May 19. Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images North America hide caption

Congress is set to leave town for a weeklong recess without passing a Republican-backed measure to fund immigration enforcement amid dissent within their own ranks over a federal fund to pay people who claim to have been politically persecuted.

The Trump Administration's attempt to use taxpayer dollars to compensate those who say they were targeted by the federal government is not part of the $72 billion measure to fund Immigration and Customs Enforcement through the end of Trump's term .

But enough Senate Republicans were alarmed over the plan and intent on addressing it before sending the immigration funding to the president's desk, according to two Republican aides granted anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly.

"We have a lot of members who are concerned obviously," Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., told reporters on Thursday.

Trump has made funding his nationwide crackdown on illegal immigration a top priority — and told Republicans in Congress that he wanted the additional money greenlit by June 1. But it is Trump's own effort to create this novel $1.8 billion "Anti-Weaponization" fund that will likely derail that deadline.

The delay came as tensions between President Trump and some Congressional Republicans spilled into the open over fears that the president's focus on vanquishing political opponents and testing loyalty could cost them in the midterms.

In the last week, Trump helped oust two veteran incumbents, endorsed a primary challenger against another and lambasted a Republican House member running for re-election in a toss-up district .

"Get smart and tough Republicans," Trump wrote on Truth Social on Wednesday. "Or you'll all be looking for a job much sooner than you thought possible."

But Trump's moves to rail against his own party could end up backfiring, not only in November, but if Republicans, especially members newly-emboldened by a primary defeat, feel more free to push back against the president and his agenda.

"Maybe he doesn't think he needs us," Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, told reporters on Tuesday. "But I don't know. Last I checked, the laws don't just appear before his desk to be signed."

Pushback on White House ballroom

Earlier this week, Trump lashed out on social media as Republicans seemed set to exclude two of his pet projects in the immigration enforcement funding bill they were racing to pass: provisions from a voting overhaul known as the Save America Act and roughly $220 million for the White House ballroom.

After the shooting last month at the White House Correspondent's Dinner, some of Trump's allies in Congress pushed to include that funding in the bill as part of a $1 billion allocation to the U.S. Secret Service.

But over the weekend, the nonpartisan Senate Parliamentarian nixed the ballroom money, ruling it did not meet the requirements to use the party-line budget reconciliation process , which allows Republicans to sign off on certain budget changes by sidestepping Democrats.

That ruling prompted Trump to press Thune to fire the parliamentarian and end the filibuster. Trump has made these demands of Senate Republicans before, and Thune has resisted them.

But even before the ruling of the parliamentarian, top Republicans acknowledged there likely would not be enough Republican votes to approve money for the ballroom.

That became more clear this week when Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., fresh off his primary loss against a Trump-backed challenger , came out publicly against the ballroom funding.

"Anti-Weaponization" fund draws Republican blowback

This week, Cassidy also provided the critical vote to advance a stalled war powers resolution that would compel Trump to pull back from the conflict with Iran. He also was among the most vocal critics of the "Anti-Weaponization" fund.

"People are concerned about paying their mortgage or rent, affording groceries and paying for gas, not about putting together a $1.8 billion fund for the President and his allies to pay whomever they wish with no legal precedent or accountability," Cassidy wrote on X.

Cassidy was not the only one concerned. Senators grilled Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche on the fund during a Wednesday hearing. The votes on the immigration enforcement money were postponed on Thursday not long after Republican senators emerged from a tense lunch with Blanche on the fund.

One Republican aide who was granted anonymity to discuss private deliberations said had the vote gone on, a possible Democratic amendment to target the fund could have attracted more than enough Republican votes to pass. Another Republican aide with knowledge of the discussions, downplayed that scenario, and said Republican leadership simply recognized the caucus had many concerns about the fund and waiting on reconciliation would provide the best chance to address them.

Trump's retribution campaign may embolden Congress

While Republicans in Congress have historically been extremely reluctant to push back on Trump and often pull back after teasing a small amount of daylight, some moves suggest there are limits to that, especially with the midterms looming.

The most vocal pushback may come from members headed for the exits after Trump targeted them in primaries and may now be more willing to join the small group of Republicans who break with the president more regularly.

Thune tempered expectations that Cassidy would go rogue, telling reporters on Tuesday that, "Cassidy is a team player, and I think he obviously wants to see our team succeed."

But as illustrated by the deep opposition to that $1.8 billion fund, those members may have growing power to alter dynamics in the Senate and cause headaches for the president. Republicans can only afford to lose three votes and still pass their party-line budget reconciliation bill.

"This president is going to have to continue to deal and work with and partner with or battle with this group of lawmakers," Murkowski said earlier this week. "Even though Bill Cassidy lost his primary, he is still a voting member of the Senate until January."

Asked Thursday morning whether he was losing control of Senate Republicans, Trump told reporters, "I don't know. I really don't know. I can tell you I only do what's right."

Consequences for the midterms

Murkowski said the mood in the Republican caucus grew especially sour this week after Trump announced he was endorsing Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton over Sen. John Cornyn in the Republican primary. Murkowski says that move could jeopardize the seat in November.

House Speaker Mike Johnson told reporters this week that Trump understands the stakes, but, "We need people here who are not trying to carve out their own lane and do something that is destructive or counterproductive to the agenda, that's the message."

Trump has spent the spring trying to knock out members who carve their own lane or in some cases, replace mostly reliable allies with stalwart loyalists.

As Trump successfully defeats foes — not just Cassidy and potentially Cornyn – but also Indiana state senators and Rep. Thomas Massie , R-Ky., some members who just want to survive may be less likely to step out of line, even as Cassidy and others shake things up on their way out the door.

That may limit the cumulative effect of efforts to push back on the president.

When Cassidy voted this week to advance a war powers resolution to constrain Trump's authority to conduct war against Iran, there were several absences. In a full chamber, the final Senate vote will likely fail unless more Republicans decide to join him.

Alaska Public Media's Liz Ruskin and NPR's Eric McDaniel contributed reporting.

A previous version of this story and its headline incorrectly said that the fund is worth $1.8 trillion. It is $1.8 billion.