Senate Majority Leader John Thune sent his chamber home early for Memorial Day weekend, refusing to put what Republicans deemed a must-pass immigration funding bill up for a vote amid GOP infighting.
At issue is an internal battle over President Donald Trump’s slush fund, which hands out nearly $1.8 billion to Jan. 6 insurrectionists and other traitors who claim to be victims of former President Joe Biden’s Justice Department.
“The Senate will go home until June, leaving the reconciliation bill unfinished,” Punchbowl News founder Jake Sherman wrote on X. “Thune just told senators in the room. All because of the DOJ weaponization fund. House is expected to follow suit soon.”
According to multiple reports, Thune’s decision came after acting Attorney General Todd Blanche spent more than an hour meeting with GOP senators during a closed-door lunch, in which he was grilled by Republicans who were irate over Trump’s corrupt slush fund.
“As many as 25 GOP senators spoke (this is very rare for these meetings), all in opposition to weaponization fund,” Punchbowl News reporter Andrew Desiderio wrote on X.
In fact, so many Republicans are angry that Thune knew that his party had the power to successfully amend the immigration funding bill to put limits on the Jan. 6 reparations—which would likely enrage Trump.
So rather than allow that to happen, Thune delayed the vote and sent them home, likely so that he and other GOP leaders could work on an amendment to soften the blow to Dear Leader.
But this anger over Trump’s slush fund comes at a terrible time for the GOP, as multiple recent polls show that Republicans could be obliterated in this year’s midterms.
At the same time, Trump successfully ousted two Republican lawmakers who defied his orders, and now he feels emboldened to keep the rest of the GOP in line by threatening to kill their political careers.
That means putting an amendment on the floor that blatantly rebukes Trump could cause them just as many problems as allowing this corrupt slush fund to proceed.
GOP Sen. Kevin Cramer of North Dakota even whined that Trump should have waited to announce his slush fund until after they passed the immigration funding bill—as if the timing is the problem and not the actual fund itself.
“We can’t help the president with a budget reconciliation package with this hanging over us,” Cramer told Semafor’s Burgess Everett.
Ultimately, Republicans are despondent as they watch their electoral hopes crumble under Trump’s thumb.
“Our majority is melting down before our eyes,” one unnamed GOP Senator told Desiderio.
Yes, and what a beautiful sight that is.
Published with permission of Daily Kos
