The Republican-controlled US Senate has delayed a vote on a $72 billion bill funding immigration enforcement operations, marking a rare show of dissent within the party against President Donald Trump ahead of the Memorial Day recess.
The vote, initially scheduled for May 22, was postponed by Senate Republican leadership, with the delay stemming from two contentious decisions by the Trump administration.
The first is a nearly $1.776 billion 'anti-weaponisation' fund announced on May 19 as part of a settlement in a lawsuit Trump filed against the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) over a contractor's leak of his tax return information in 2019. Critics argue the lawsuit presents a conflict of interest, as Trump can resolve the claim through negotiations with officials he appoints.
Under the settlement, the fund would be drawn from the Justice Department's budget — bypassing typical Congressional approval — to compensate those wronged by the government. Opposition lawmakers view it as a potential 'cash machine' for Trump supporters.
Senator Don Bacon (Nebraska) revealed the issue has eroded support for Trump within the Senate: 'He has lost some support. He's the plaintiff and also the boss of the defendant. On its face, it stinks.'
Senator Thom Tillis (Republican, not running for re-election in November) bluntly criticized the fund: 'I think it's stupid. The American people will reject this immediately.' Tillis has previously clashed with Trump and will not seek re-election in the midterm elections this November.
The second reason for the Senate delay is Trump's request for $1 billion to build a ballroom at the White House. Trump previously pledged not to use taxpayer funds for this project, but recently proposed including the expense in the immigration enforcement bill, arguing the ballroom is necessary for national security.
However, on May 21, Senate Republican leadership stated the ballroom funding would be removed from the bill. Keeping it would prevent Republicans from using the budget reconciliation process — which requires only a simple majority — to pass the immigration enforcement legislation.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune acknowledged: 'This was supposed to be very narrow, targeted, focused, clean, simple, but this week it got more complicated. It makes things harder than they need to be.' The Senate will resume work in June, and Thune indicated Republicans would 'pick up where we left off.'
In a related development, Republican leaders in the House also cancelled a vote on a war powers resolution requiring Trump to seek Congressional approval before engaging militarily with Israel against Iran. The Senate passed a similar resolution earlier this week, with the House vote expected on May 22. The vote is now postponed until June, after the Memorial Day recess.
Representative Gregory Meeks, the top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, accused Republicans of political maneuvering: 'No question, we had the votes, and they know it.'
