A White House meeting with GOP lawmakers to discuss a $70 billion party-line immigration bill was canceled on Thursday amid uproar from Republicans over the Trump administration’s “anti-weaponization” fund and money for White House security upgrades.The meeting was scrapped after the Senate postponed a vote on the party-line bill until after its Memorial Day recess, according to two sources familiar with the situation. The meeting was set to be attended by House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) and a handful of Republican senators.Earlier Thursday, Republican senators met with acting Attorney General Todd Blanche over concerns surrounding the “anti-weaponization” fund established on Monday. The meeting lasted over two hours, and Republican senators emerged declining to comment.
A senior GOP aide told the Washington Examiner that Blanche’s briefing had failed to assuage GOP senators. The mood with GOP senators further soured over the White House’s official guidance on who could be compensated by the fund, including lawmakers who had their cellphone data subpoenaed during Biden-era investigations.
Ultimately, Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) told Republicans on Thursday that a vote on the $70 billion in enforcement money had been canceled, according to a source familiar with the matter.
