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Donald Trump took a rare hit in the U.S. Senate on Thursday when a vote on a major budget bill was postponed by members of his own party, who were uncomfortable with several of the president’s demands.
Senators were originally set to vote late Thursday into Friday on a budget bill that mostly deals with funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the Border Patrol (CBP), totaling over $70 billion over three years.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune ultimately decided to postpone the vote and send his team on more than a week-long congressional break after Republican lawmakers opposed other parts of the bill.Because the draft bill also planned to fund a compensation fund worth nearly $1.8 billion.
The Trump administration introduced this “anti-instrumentalization” fund on Monday, designed to “hear and repair the grievances of people who have been victims of political instrumentalization” of justice.
This could involve the hundreds of Donald Trump supporters taken to court for their participation in the assault on the Capitol on January 6, 2021.Ballroom
The fund drew criticism from Democratic lawmakers, with Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez calling it ‘pure and simple corruption’ and Senator Chris Van Hollen describing it as a ‘slush fund, funded by your taxes’ that Donald Trump could ‘use to reward his political allies.’
Repeated criticism even within the Republican camp.”People are worried about paying their mortgage or rent, being able to pay for groceries or gas, not about putting together a $1.8 billion fund for the president and his allies to pay whoever they want,” Senator Bill Cassidy said on X Wednesday.
Enough Republican senators expressed their opposition internally to ultimately block the bill, which has been postponed indefinitely.
All the more so because another part was causing issues within the majority, the one concerning the billion dollars planned for the Secret Service, the agency responsible for protecting political figures in the U.S.”This billion was supposed to be used for security infrastructure related to the White House ballroom project.
In October, Donald Trump had an entire wing of the White House demolished with a bulldozer to build a ballroom that was meant to host up to 1,000 people for various receptions and dinners honoring foreign dignitaries.
The Republican president had then assured that this construction would be financed by private donations.Hot potato
Republican Senator John Kennedy told the press on Wednesday that “the votes aren’t there” in the majority to approve this billion dollars.
Several Republican lawmakers have indeed expressed their unease about this lavish project, at a time when American household confidence is down and just months before already tough midterm elections for the right.
“It will not be tolerated,” said Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski on Tuesday, known for her moderate positions within the majority.
For the Senate Democratic leader, Chuck Schumer, “the Republicans tried to sneak through a billion dollars for Trump’s decadent ballroom.””But the Americans caught them red-handed, and now they’re trying to drop this hot potato,” he said at a press conference Thursday in front of the Capitol.
Before the vote was postponed, the Democrats had planned to offer numerous amendments.
Their goal was to propose changes to the bill that might be popular with the public, so they could then call out the Republicans for refusing to implement them.
“We’ll show that the Democrats are fighting to lower prices for healthcare, energy, groceries, gas, and childcare,” Chuck Schumer assured.
