Speaker Mike Johnson said in an interview Tuesday he believes a controversial “Anti-Weaponization Fund” and security funding for a White House ballroom are both “off the table” for the GOP’s stalled immigration enforcement bill.
“I think the president’s been pretty clear via the Department of Justice — their statement [is] that it’s now being set aside,” Johnson said. “So I understand there’s some senators that want a little more than that, but in terms of clarification, so I suppose they’re in the process of doing that.”
The DOJ statement Monday said it would “abide by” a temporary court order blocking payouts from the fund. But several Senate Republicans said they wanted further assurances that the fund is defunct.
Johnson said the fund, which could be used to pay prosecuted allies of President Donald Trump, and a proposed $1 billion in Secret Service money that could be used in part for Trump’s ballroom project are “two separate issues.” POLITICO reported last month that Senate Republicans had decided to drop the security funding entirely.
“But I think they’re both off the table with regard to reconciliation,” he added, referring to the party-line budget process Republicans are using to move the bill.
Johnson met with Trump on Monday morning and raised issues about the Anti-Weaponization Fund’s viability given the Senate backlash. Some House Republicans are also opposed to green-lighting the fund and are working to force a vote on legislation to ban any future attempts by Trump or anyone else to create it.
