WASHINGTON — Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) on Tuesday made Democrats’ first effort to put Republicans on the record regarding President Donald Trump’s new controversial settlement fund. During a Senate Homeland Security Committee meeting on Republicans’ bill to fund U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Gallego offered an amendment to the legislation to bar the government from establishing a commission like the “Anti-Weaponization Fund” the Trump administration announced Monday. The committee’s Republicans, led by Sen. Rand Paul (Ky.), voted to table Gallego’s amendment as well as many other symbolic proposals from Democrats. “This is not justice, is profound abuse of public funds,” Gallego said during the hearing. The Justice Department announced the $1.7 billion “Anti-Weaponization Fund” on Monday as the result of a settlement between the Trump administration and Trump himself. Earlier this year, he sued the IRS for $10 billion in his capacity as a private citizen, over a past leak of his tax information. The government said Trump and his family won’t receive compensation as part of the deal. The settlement was reached before the judge overseeing the case could have thrown it out because the opposing parties were actually on the same side. The fund will “provide a systematic process to hear and redress claims” of people who, like Trump supposedly did, “suffered weaponization and lawfare” by the government under President Joe Biden, the Justice Department said. Although the department didn’t say exactly who could apply for cash payouts, it’s likely that people charged with crimes related to the Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021, will be eligible. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said during a separate hearing on Tuesday, when asked if people who assaulted police would be eligible for payouts, that “anybody can apply.”At the homeland security hearing, Gallego displayed a poster-sized photo of rioters in a melee with police on the Capitol steps. He pointed to four individual rioters in the photo. “This guy, this guy, and this guy, and this guy are going to potentially get payouts from the federal government for assaulting these police officers,” Gallego said. The special budget process Republicans are using for their ICE funding bill will afford Democrats many more opportunities to force votes on amendments highlighting unpopular Trump initiatives, including things like the weaponization fund and also Trump’s proposed White House ballroom. Close