WASHINGTON — Senate Republicans scrapped their remaining votes for the week and won’t reconvene until June after tensions exploded over the Justice Department’s $1.776 billion “weaponization” fund.
The GOP had hoped to fulfill President Trump’s June 1 deadline of passing a party-line funding measure for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), as well as US Customs and Border Protection (CBP).
But that faced stiff headwinds in the Senate that became apparent during a testy closed-door meeting with Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, during which half the conference grilled him over the fund.
Some senators were also still reeling from Sen. Bill Cassidy’s (R-La.) defeat over the weekend and President Trump’s endorsement of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) over incumbent Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas).
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“Our majority is melting down before our eyes,” one senator fumed to Punchbowl News.
The ICE and CBP funding bill has also faced hurdles due to the Senate Parliamentarian spiking $1 billion in funding for a security initiative near the White House ballroom project, which had been a top priority for Trump, but met with resistance in the GOP.
Given that the Senate was unable to resolve its differences on an ICE and CBP funding bill, the House opted to finish up its remaining votes for the day and break for recess.