By Richard Cowan
WASHINGTON, May 21 (Reuters) - Senate Republicans met with Acting U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche on Thursday to discuss the Trump administration’s $1.8 billion "weaponization" fund.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune told reporters that his 53 Republican senators want an explanation from Blanche on how the fund would work "and what they (Trump administration officials) intend to do with it." The meeting began shortly after Thune's remarks.
The "Anti-Weaponization Fund" stems from a $10 billion lawsuit President Donald Trump filed against the Internal Revenue Service over the disclosure of his tax returns to the media in 2019 and 2020. A legal settlement was revealed this week for the fund, which would aid victims of alleged political "weaponization." It also would bar audits of Trump's taxes, according to legal experts.
"Obviously our members have very legitimate questions about it," Thune said. "We’ve had some conversations about ... if it’s going to be a feature going forward, what it might look like and how we might make sure that it’s fenced-in appropriately?"
Democrats have attacked the arrangement as a Trump "slush fund" and warned they have prepared several amendments to an unrelated bill the Senate is trying to pass this week, which provides $72 billion in additional funding for Department of Homeland Security deportation efforts.
That leaves Senate Republicans in a difficult position: either defend the fund, which has stirred a maelstrom in Washington, or risk incurring Trump's wrath by joining Democrats to impose "guardrails."
Thune was asked whether this controversy — and the likely removal of $1 billion from the legislation that Trump wanted for a new White House ballroom — could block the immigration law enforcement bill. "There's always a chance," Thune said, adding that he was still working on the legislation.
