U.S. President Donald Trump in the Oval Office at the White House, in Washington, D.C., U.S., May 21, 2026
President Donald Trump recently announced that he is pausing his pursuing of a $1.8 billion slush fund for supporters who claim to have been attacked by the government — and yet many in his own party do not believe him.
That is the attitude in Washington amidst the news of his pause, reported MS NOW Jack Fitzpatrick and Mychael Schnell on Monday. Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., told MS NOW that ““They have to follow the law. ‘We all have to follow the law. That’s why God made jails. Yeah, if you don’t follow the law, you go to jail. It doesn’t tell me much.”
Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, similarly told reporters that “the only thing that’s going to solve this problem to get immigration funded and law enforced is for the president to do away with the weaponization fund.”
Meanwhile Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, asked if the Justice Department plan following the roughly two-week order is to then abandon the fund altogether. Similarly Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., told reporters that “I need to be convinced” that the fund is really gone altogether.
The Senate Majority Leader, John Thune, R-S.D., also said that “I’m sure the Democrats are going to give us an opportunity to vote on lots of different amendment ideas, but I think if the administration effectively shuts it down, and makes that very, very clear, then that to me should answer the question.” He left open the possibility of votes this week on the reconciliation bill.
“For five minutes,” Sen. Patty Murray scoffed when asked about her level of belief to Trump saying he has dropped the fund. “I don’t believe that.”
Trump reportedly decided to pause his planned $1.8 billion slush fund after significant pushback from both Republicans and Democrats.
"The Trump administration plans to drop its controversial $1.8 billion 'weaponization' fund the president sought to compensate alleged victims of prosecutorial conduct under his predecessor," Axios' Marc Caputo reported on Monday. He added that one source told him, "It's dead for now." The $1.8 billion slush fund was created by Trump as a rushed settlement to his $10 billion lawsuit against the IRS after an independent contractor leaked his tax returns during his first term. Because Trump was suing an agency he controls (the IRS) and controlled the agency intended to defend the one he was suing (the Department of Justice), critics argued that there was a clear conflict of interest in the settlement. Even more controversial was the apparent likelihood that much of the money would go to Jan. 6th insurrectionists. Finally, when presiding Judge Kathleen M. Williams ordered the parties involved to appear before her court by May 20th to make sure the lawsuit was legal, they rushed to a conclusion before her deadline.