Senate Democrats' effort to kill Trump 'anti-weaponization fund' fails
June 4 (UPI) -- Senate Republicans killed an effort by Democrats to permanently prevent President Donald Trump's $1.8 billion 'anti-weaponization' fund from being created.
The amendment to a bill to fund the Department of Homeland Security would have permanently prevented the Trump administration from enacting the fund, which has been criticized as a way to reward its allies, CNN and The New York Times reported.
Although Trump's nominee for attorney general, Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, said during a hearing on Wednesday in front of a House subcommittee meeting the fund is "not moving forward," he balked at putting it in writing.
The fund was created as part of a settlement in Trump's lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service over a leak of his tax return to the media.
The amendment voted down Thursday was part of a "vote-a-rama" on the bill to fund DHS, which has been stalled for months of the actions of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency amid the Trump administration's crackdown on migrants since early 2025.
The bill, which failed on a 49 to 51 vote, saw three Republican senators -- Maine's Susan Collins, Ohio's Jon Husted and Alaska's Dan Sullivan -- vote with Democrats to kill the fund, which is aimed at paying people who claim they were victimized by the federal government.
Many of the people expected to make claims under the fund are those who were charged or convicted and incarcerated for actions they took during the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol in Washington, D.C., during a congressional session to certify the 2020 presidential election.
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This story was originally published June 4, 2026 at 2:16 PM.