Senate Republicans need to grow up. They’re leaving town, not returning until June, which kills the deadline to pass the reconciliation bill aimed at funding the Department of Homeland Security. The agency has been shut down due to Democratic Party antics since Presidents’ Day weekend. Yet, that’s the least of it. There’s obvious heartburn that President Trump endorsed Ken Paxton over Sen. John Cornyn in the Texas Senate runoff, and Sen. David Cassidy (R-LA) lost his primary last weekend—he voted to impeach Trump; he had to go.
Yet, the reconciliation bill, the ballroom renovation, and finally the Justice Department’s anti-weaponization fund, which would provide compensation to those found to be unfairly targeted by the government, proved to be too much for these people to handle. They ran away. And yes, January 6 was an issue regarding the fund (via Semafor):
How Trump lost Senate Republicans, w @ShelbyTalcott
— Burgess Everett (@burgessev) May 21, 2026
- His juice is LOW after Cassidy lost and Trump endorsed against Cornyn, per senators and aides
- Senate Rs hated the Paxton endorsement and saw the attack on parliamentarian as low blow
- Politically, the anti-weaponization…
The most urgent reason for the delay is boiling anger among Senate Republicans at the president’s $1.8 billion fund of taxpayer money for people who allege they’ve been targeted by the government. That includes, potentially, rioters who participated in the 2021 Capitol attack.
But the bill is slowing down for other reasons, none of them related to immigration: Trump is unsuccessfully pushing for security funding for his White House ballroom renovation, and his goodwill with GOP senators is at a second-term low as he seeks to defeat his second Republican incumbent in as many weeks. Republicans had little appetite for giving Trump what he wanted this week, according to senators and aides.
Broadly speaking, Trump’s sway over the Senate GOP is lower than it’s been at any point in his second term, those Republican sources said — even as his influence in party primaries peaks.
The White House had indicated to Senate Republicans this week that Trump could veto any party-line immigration bill that didn’t contain his unrelated priorities, including the East Wing money and unrestricted use of his “anti-weaponization” fund, according to four people familiar with the matter. A White House official denied to Semafor that such a message was sent.
That bold talk of vetoing a top priority came after Trump helped oust Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., in his primary before endorsing scandal-plagued Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton over Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, who’s beloved among his GOP colleagues. The president also attacked the nonpartisan Senate parliamentarian for ruling that the East Wing security funding could be filibustered, a broadside that many senators viewed as a low blow.
[…]
Republicans “were upset going into the meeting and probably were no less upset coming out of the committee, because there was no remedy. There was some frustration,” said Sen. Kevin Cramer, R-N.D. Politically speaking, he added, the fund is “unexplainable. That’s the problem.”
Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., upbraided Blanche over the fund in the meeting, and Senate Judiciary Chair Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, told Blanche firmly that the administration needs to consult more closely with Congress ahead of decisions, according to people familiar with the meeting.
“So the nation’s top law enforcement official is asking for a slush fund to pay people who assault cops? Utterly stupid, morally wrong; take your pick,” Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said in a statement.
The meeting was described as an “absolute sh*tshow” by two people briefed on it.
[…]
Senate Republicans clearly need a breather after this week, and they may be able to reassemble the immigration bill. They may even find a way to get back in sync with Trump, who has a unique ability to get his way even when it seems impossible.
On the other hand, Trump is getting deep into his second term with low approval ratings and more focus on foreign policy than on domestic issues. Republicans may be realizing that they need a path to success — at legislating and campaigning — in a post-Trump party.
It could be a rough 2026 as they figure that out.
That’s a lot of whining. All talk, no action. This upper chamber is full of the spineless and the cowardly. I understand we don’t have a true majority, since we have four to five members in the agitator caucus, but this is a lot of complaining for a body that has done nothing. That indulged Senate Democrats on DHS funding, only to get played like a fiddle. I can see why Trump views them as eunuchs. They’re completely worthless, and they proved it again this week.
Pretty neat how the GOP eunuchs have no problem handing out money to every leftist program known to man but the prospect of maybe helping some of their most dedicated voters a little bit even once is where they draw the line. https://t.co/YCBkvbrVnA
— Logan Hall (@loganclarkhall) May 22, 2026
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