Blanche meets with Senate Republicans as Trump’s ‘anti-weaponization’ fund faces trouble on Capitol Hill

By Ted Barrett, CNN

(CNN) — Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche is meeting with Senate Republicans Thursday morning, a GOP aide told CNN, in an attempt to save the Justice Department’s “anti-weaponization” fund as the party weighs its fate.

“Our members have very legitimate questions about it, and we’ve had some conversations about if it’s going to be a feature going forward, what it might look like, and how we might make sure that it’s fenced in appropriately,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune said ahead of the meeting.

Blanche was initially scheduled to go to Minnesota where he was expected to speak at a press conference about fraud. Instead, he will meet with lawmakers on Capitol Hill where the fund’s future hangs in the balance.

In the latest sign that Senate Republicans may seek to put guardrails around the program, Senate Appropriations Chairwoman Susan Collins came out against the Trump administration’s $1.8 billion fund for individuals claiming they had been unfairly treated by past Justice Departments.

“I do not support the weaponization fund as it has been described,” said Collins, who faces a tough reelection in November. “I do not believe individuals that were convicted of violence against police officers on Jan. 6 should be entitled to reimbursement of their legal fees.”

Utah GOP Sen. John Curtis said on his way into the meeting he’d “listen with an open mind, but I’m just telling you, I have some serious concerns.”

“What are my concerns? Yeah, an Executive Branch being able to, at their will, send money to people without the proper judicial rule. Those are my concerns,” he continued.

Democrats are also preparing amendments to the GOP’s reconciliation bill to put Republicans on the spot over the fund that could be used to compensate President Donald Trump’s allies. The newly announced fund has run into real issues in the GOP conference this week, with lawmakers expressing concern over the political problems it could raise in a critical midterm election year.

But the White House has doubled down in recent days on its push to fund the president’s priorities as part of the broader package of immigration money. That includes his East Wing ballroom project, which has already run into challenges related to the chamber’s arcane budget rules that would allow the GOP to skirt the Senate’s 60-vote threshold.

Ahead of the Blanche meeting, which was first reported by Politico, Republican lawmakers noted that they have questions over how the fund in particular would work.

“I just don’t know how this puppy dog will work. I’m not sure where the money’s coming from. I’m not sure who’s going to decide. I’m not sure how this works with respect to our court system. I don’t know. I don’t know anything about anything, which is why the attorney general’s coming,” Louisiana Republican Sen. John Kennedy said.

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CNN’s Manu Raju, Alison Main and Hannah Rabinowitz contributed to this report.

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