U.S. Senate Majority Leader John Thune speaks during a news conference at the Capitol on Tuesday, June 2, 2026. (Photo by Jennifer Shutt/States Newsroom)
WASHINGTON – The Trump administration has abandoned plans to exploit nearly $1.8 billion in taxpayer dollars to pay people who believe they have been unfairly prosecuted by the Justice Department, a proposal that has stalled work on legislation to fund immigration and deportation efforts.
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche testified before a House committee on Tuesday that the Justice Department would no longer pursue those plans shortly after Senate Majority Leader John Thune, a Republican from South Dakota, said the administration had reversed course.
The decision could open the way for the Senate to debate a roughly $70 billion package to fund immigration and deportations for the rest of President Donald Trump’s term.
“I think his statements will be very definitive, very clear and will create the certainty that I hope all our members, as well as members of the House, will need so that we can continue to work on the reconciliation bill,” Thune said, referring to Blanche. “But I can’t guarantee it will happen yet.”
Blanche confirmed Thune’s statements during his afternoon testimony before the House Appropriations subcommittee.
“We will not move forward with the fund, period,” Blanche said under pressure from the subcommittee’s top Democrat, Rep. Grace Meng of New York.
“You and Deputy Attorney General Woodward signed prior documents regarding the settlement and this fund, will you both now sign and release documents changing the DOJ’s position regarding the fund?” – Menga asked.
“We’re not moving forward with the fund. I’m not sure what it means to sign reversal papers. There’s nothing to reverse,” Blanche replied.
MILKING published on social media this week that he plans to follow a interim court decision it blocked the distribution of funds, but Republican lawmakers decided it wasn’t enough to end the gridlock it created.
The Department of Justice announced the creation of the fund last month as part of a legal settlement between Trump and the IRS over leaked copies of his returns from Trump’s first term. The settlement included provisions barring future IRS investigations into Trump and his family.
Senate Republicans are speaking out
Thune said GOP senators had a “pretty solid conversation” during a closed-door lunch about the Justice Department’s funding and whether to move forward with the immigration and deportation package.
North Dakota Sen. John Hoeven said after that meeting that it would be up to GOP leaders to determine whether there were enough votes to proceed with the immigration package.
“I think the next step for our team is to find out where everyone is based on the administration’s indication that they are not going to continue with the fund,” Hoeven said.
Louisiana Sen. John Kennedy said there is a “chance” that Republicans could begin a marathon vote on the immigration amendment as early as Wednesday if Blanche’s testimony addresses concerns raised by the Justice Department fund.
Montana Sen. Steve Daines, however, said he thought it was “unlikely” the process would begin this week.
Republican Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina said earlier in the day before lunch that he would not agree to donate taxpayer dollars to the people who attacked the Capitol on Jan. 6.
“To provide justice for someone who assaulted a police officer and confessed to it. I mean, man, I’ve seen some crazy things, but this is just crazy,” he said.
Utah Republican Sen. John Curtis said he needed to know “if he’s dead or almost dead.”
Oklahoma Republican Sen. James Lankford said he wants clarification from the White House about the settlement fund in delicate of the court’s ruling.
He added that Republicans are waiting for “the court case to invalidate both the settlement fund and the audits.”
“We need clarification on what it is and what it is not because the White House has already said, ‘We agree, we don’t like it, but we agree with the courts,’” Lankford said. “What does it mean?”
Prohibition Fund Amendment
Democrats too criticized Trump and those in his administration over the fund, vowing to block it legally.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said during an afternoon news conference that the promises made by Trump and administration officials are “worthless.”
“Trump sued his own government, assigned the case to his own Department of Justice, and now is trying to use taxpayer dollars to pay off his MAGA allies, billionaire cronies, and cop-beating insurrectionists,” Schumer said.
“And let’s be clear, Trump didn’t kill this slush fund,” he added. “He didn’t withdraw the special tax immunity he had secured for himself and his family. He didn’t put an end to corruption. He faced a temporary blockade. That’s all.”
Schumer said the First Amendment he would propose during the debate on the Republican immigration and deportation bill would “permanently block Trump’s fund and forever deny his family the freedom to commit tax fraud.”
Ashley Murray contributed to this report.
