Trump Action Archive

Supporting reports

• Todd Blanche held a closed-door meeting with Republican Senate leadership to address concerns about a $1.8 billion DOJ "weaponization fund" designed to compensate Trump allies and January 6 defendants, resulting in significant GOP opposition and procedural delays. — White House Counsel Todd Blanche met with Senate Republicans for nearly two hours to defend a $1.8 billion DOJ fund intended to compensate individuals deemed victims of political "weaponization," including January 6 Capitol riot defendants and Trump associates. The meeting was reportedly hostile, with as many as 25 GOP senators speaking in opposition. Multiple Republican senators publicly criticized the fund as fiscally irresponsible, legally unprecedented, and damaging to party electoral prospects. The controversy delayed completion of the reconciliation bill, with Senate leadership announcing a recess until June. Senators proposed conditions including restrictions on who could receive payouts and oversight of fund administration.
• Republican senators meet with acting attorney general over slush fund — Republican senators held a nearly two-hour meeting with acting attorney general Todd Blanche to express opposition to the slush fund and immunity agreement. Senators reported the meeting was "incredibly hostile." Republicans stated they had received no advance warning, questioned the legal basis for the fund, objected to Blanche's explanations of payment mechanisms, and declared they wanted no involvement. As many as 25 Republican senators spoke against the fund and proposed limits on it.
• Multiple Republican senators publicly opposed the $1.8 billion DOJ weaponization fund, with Sen. Thom Tillis warning the fund could damage GOP electoral prospects and Sen. Mitch McConnell calling it "morally wrong." — Republican senators including Thom Tillis, Bill Cassidy, Mitch McConnell, Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski, Rand Paul, and John Curtis publicly criticized the $1.8 billion DOJ fund. Tillis warned that White House indifference to electoral consequences was "stupid" and would harm the president. McConnell called the fund "utterly stupid, morally wrong." Cassidy noted Americans prioritize basic needs over funding for presidential allies. Collins stated she opposed reimbursing individuals convicted of violence against police on January 6. Murkowski described the fund as a disruption to planned reconciliation efforts. Paul called the arrangement "unprecedented." Curtis expressed dissatisfaction with Blanche's explanations. One GOP senator texted that "our majority is melting down before our eyes."
• Senate Republicans Oppose Trump’s Anti-Weaponization Fund — Senate Republicans are in open revolt against President Trump's $1.8 billion anti-weaponization fund, leading to the collapse of their own reconciliation bill. The fund, perceived as a slush fund, has caused significant division within the party, prompting Senate Majority Leader John Thune to send senators home until June. This internal conflict highlights the challenges facing the Republican Party in maintaining unity.
• Todd Blanche met with Republican senators over $1.8 billion criminal slush fund — Attorney General Todd Blanche met with Republican senators to discuss Trump's $1.8 billion "anti-weaponization" fund. Sen. Ted Cruz described the meeting as having "fireworks at an epic level" and "one of the roughest meetings" he had seen in the Senate, with senators "screaming at the AG." The fund has been the subject of intense criticism from GOP senators over its purpose and implementation.

Supporting reports

• Representative Raskin introduces legislation to prohibit taxpayer-funded settlement slush funds — Representative Jamie Raskin (D-MD) introduced the "No Taxpayer-Funded Settlement Slush Funds Act of 2026" in the House, which would prohibit the use of federal funds to pay off anyone claiming to have faced "weaponization" of the law by the federal government, including January 6 rioters. Raskin stated Congress must reassert control over federal spending to prevent what he characterized as "brazen looting of taxpayer funds."
• Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA) and Tom Suozzi (D-NY) drafted bipartisan legislation to eliminate the $1.8 billion DOJ weaponization fund and signaled intent to use discharge petition procedures to bypass House leadership if necessary. — Representatives Brian Fitzpatrick and Tom Suozzi drafted legislation to kill the $1.8 billion DOJ fund created to compensate Trump allies and January 6 defendants. Fitzpatrick sent questions to DOJ Counsel Todd Blanche seeking details about fund eligibility and administration. The representatives indicated they would pursue discharge petition procedures to bring the bill to a House floor vote, circumventing Speaker Mike Johnson's expected opposition. Fitzpatrick has previously used discharge petitions to pass bipartisan bills over GOP leadership objections. The effort reflects bipartisan concern about the fund's legality and fiscal impact.

Supporting reports

• House advances Trump tax-and-spending bill through procedural votes — The House of Representatives advanced Trump's "One Big Beautiful Bill Act" through procedural votes on July 2–3, 2025, after Democratic minority leader Hakeem Jeffries delivered an 8-hour-44-minute floor speech opposing passage. The bill, which passed the Senate on July 1 with Vice President JD Vance casting a tie-breaking vote, includes $3.3 trillion in deficit spending through 2034, extends 2017 tax cuts, allocates $45 billion for ICE detention and $14 billion for deportation operations, imposes new Medicaid work requirements, and sunsets green-energy incentives. Speaker Mike Johnson secured final Republican holdouts to advance the measure toward a final House vote.
• House passes Trump tax-and-spending bill with permanent tax cuts, deportation funding, and safety-net cuts — The U.S. House of Representatives passed Trump's comprehensive tax-and-spending legislation on Thursday, following Senate passage on Tuesday with VP Vance's tie-breaking vote. The bill extends 2017 tax cuts permanently (benefiting high earners disproportionately), allocates $45bn for ICE detention and $14bn for deportation operations, funds $50bn+ for border fortifications, cuts Medicaid (affecting ~10.6m people) and SNAP (affecting ~8m people), phases out clean-energy tax credits, raises the debt ceiling by $5tn, and increases the deficit by $3.3tn through 2034. The bill now awaits Trump's signature.
• Trump budget bill passage with immigration enforcement expansion and social benefit cuts — The House passed Donald Trump's budget reconciliation bill on Thursday, July 3, 2025, with no Democratic support and only two Republican defections (Thomas Massie and Brian Fitzpatrick). The bill expands immigration enforcement funding to $170 billion (making ICE larger than the FBI, DEA, and Bureau of Prisons combined), cuts Medicaid expansion, reduces SNAP benefits, allows the tipped-worker tax break to sunset in three years while making billionaire tax cuts permanent, and removes subsidies under the Affordable Care Act. Democrats issued widespread condemnation, citing projected deaths and loss of healthcare access.
• Hakeem Jeffries delivers record-breaking House floor speech opposing Trump tax bill — Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries spoke for more than eight hours on the House floor beginning shortly before 5am on Thursday, July 3, 2025, breaking the previous record of 8 hours 32 minutes set by Kevin McCarthy in 2021. Using the "magic minute" tradition that allows House leaders unlimited speaking time after floor debate concludes, Jeffries opposed Trump's $4.5 trillion tax-and-spending bill, reading stories of Americans who would lose healthcare, food assistance, and other benefits. He characterized the legislation as a "crime scene" and "abomination" that will harm millions while benefiting billionaires.
• House passes Trump tax-and-spending bill with 218-214 vote — The US House of Representatives passed Donald Trump's sweeping tax-and-spending bill on Thursday with a narrow 218-214 vote after weeks of negotiations. The legislation extends 2017 tax cuts permanently, creates new exemptions for tips and overtime pay, allocates $170 billion to immigration enforcement and border wall construction, and cuts Medicaid and SNAP benefits. The Congressional Budget Office projects it will add $3.3 trillion to the national debt through 2034 and cost millions of people their healthcare and food assistance benefits.
• Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries delivered record-length floor speech opposing budget bill — Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-VA) delivered the longest floor speech in House history, lasting all night and into Thursday afternoon, opposing the budget bill. He criticized the bill's impact on the poor and sick, concluding with a statement about hypocrisy: "You got some people in this town who go to church and pray on Sunday, and then they come to Congress and prey on the American people."
• House Republicans adopted Senate budget bill without amendments after Trump summoned Freedom Caucus members to Oval Office — House Republicans voted to adopt the Senate's budget bill following a marathon debate session. Despite weeks of public complaints from Freedom Caucus members that the Senate version was "horrible" and promises to make significant changes, the House passed it unchanged. Trump summoned the dissenting Republicans to the Oval Office, where they received signed merchandise and photos; they emerged agreeing to support the bill. Only two Republicans voted against it: Thomas Massie (R-KY) and Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA). The bill adds nearly $4 trillion to the debt and cuts Medicaid, Medicare, and nutrition assistance.
• Congressional passage of budget legislation with expansions to law enforcement and detention infrastructure — The House of Representatives passed a budget bill described as containing provisions for expanded law enforcement capacity, detention facilities, and enforcement quotas. The legislation was characterized by commentators as regressive and dangerous. The bill reportedly allocates resources toward building what critics describe as a sophisticated law enforcement apparatus with detention infrastructure and enforcement mechanisms tied to quota systems. The passage occurred despite stated opposition from advocacy groups and public awareness campaigns.
• House passes "One Big Beautiful Bill"; Trump administration announces legislative victory — The White House issued a press release announcing that the House of Representatives passed legislation titled the "One Big Beautiful Bill," which the administration characterizes as delivering "the largest middle-class tax cut in history," border security measures, military funding, and other provisions. Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt stated the bill represents "the biggest legislative win of President Trump's two terms" and that Trump "looks forward to signing" it into law. The release does not provide the bill's actual text, specific provisions, or legislative details.
• House and Senate pass Trump's tax-and-spending bill with narrow Republican majorities — Republicans passed a sweeping budget bill extending 2017 tax cuts, increasing the debt limit by $4 trillion, and adding work requirements to Medicaid and Snap. The House passed it 219–213 on Thursday after Speaker Johnson held the vote open for seven hours—the longest recorded—while Trump pressured holdouts via phone calls and social media. The Senate passed it 50–50 with Vice President Vance breaking the tie. The bill faced opposition from fiscal conservatives and moderates over deficit concerns and Medicaid cuts, resolved through targeted state benefits and executive order promises.