Trump Aides, GOP Senators Look for Way Out on $1.8B Fund

President Trump's plan for a $1.8 billion fund to compensate people claiming political persecution is facing such fierce blowback that aides are weighing whether to scrap it to secure GOP support for immigration enforcement money. More than a dozen Republican senators, including Trump ally Lindsey Graham, have privately urged the White House to walk away from what the administration calls an anti-weaponization fund. Trump has not agreed to drop the idea but has told aides that he recognizes it's caused problems with GOP senators, the Wall Street Journal reports. The fund is part of a settlement that ended Trump's $10 billion lawsuit against the IRS and effectively shut down his pending audits.

The fund is now frozen by a federal judge in Virginia while a legal challenge plays out, and a separate group of 35 former judges is urging another court to reopen Trump's IRS case, questioning whether the settlement was on the level. At the moment, Republican senators, who are especially worried about Capitol rioters being paid, are waiting to hear from the administration about putting guardrails in place for the fund, per the Washington Post. They're also considering their options, including blocking the fund and restricting who can receive money from it—though Trump officials maintain the cases could be settled without a fund. The Post has a look at the possibilities here.