MAY 23, 2026
Senate Republicans delay vote on immigration enforcement funding package, citing concerns over DOJ anti-weaponization fund
Senate Republicans delayed a vote on a budget reconciliation package intended to fund immigration enforcement, sending Congress into a weeklong recess without passing the measure. President Trump had previously stated he wanted the funding — covering U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and U.S. Border Patrol — approved by June 1. A recently announced $1.8 billion Justice Department "Anti-Weaponization Fund" emerged as a central point of contention among Senate Republicans.
Congress departed for a weeklong recess without acting on a Republican-backed plan to fund immigration enforcement for the next three years, missing a deadline Trump had communicated to congressional Republicans in April via Truth Social. The package was intended to provide multi-year funding for ICE and Border Patrol, and Senate Republicans had been described as on the verge of passing it before the delay.
The Justice Department's announcement of a $1.8 billion "Anti-Weaponization Fund" — described in a DOJ press release as a mechanism to hear and redress claims from people who say they were targeted by the government — became a source of friction. NPR reported that a number of Republican senators said they were blindsided by the announcement. Fox News reported that over two dozen Republican senators met with Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche on Thursday to demand answers about guardrails for the fund, including whether those convicted of assaulting police officers during the January 6, 2021, Capitol riot could be excluded from receiving payments. A DOJ spokesperson told Fox News Digital that Blanche "made clear that the Anti-Weaponization Fund announced Monday has nothing to do with reconciliation" and that no reconciliation funds would go toward the fund.
Separate concerns also surfaced over Trump's request that Congress fund security upgrades for a White House ballroom, with NPR reporting costs had soared to approximately $1 billion after initial plans for private funding shifted following a shooting at the correspondents' dinner. Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana publicly criticized both the ballroom funding and the anti-weaponization fund, according to NPR. Two Capitol Police officers who defended the building on January 6 also filed a federal lawsuit arguing the fund is illegal, NPR reported.