Senate Defeats First Attempts to Kill Trump's $1.8B Payout Fund

Good evening. Senators are battling over the status of President Trump's $1.8 billion "anti-weaponization" fund, while lawmakers on the House Armed Services Committee are debating next year's defense bill, which is expected to top $1 trillion. Meanwhile, staffers at the Kennedy Center have been ordered to remove President Trump's name from the performing arts complex following a judge's ruling last week.

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Senate Defeats First Attempts to Kill Trump's $1.8 Billion Payout Fund

Senate Republican leaders reportedly are confident they'll be able to pass their $70 billion immigration enforcement bill tonight, but not without some "vote-a-rama" drama fueled by concerns over the Justice Department's plan for a $1.8 billion "anti-weaponization" fund, which some lawmakers fear may be the Schrödinger's cat of the Trump administration, both dead and alive at the same time.

A push by some Republican senators to ensure that the fund was really dead and abandoned, or at least limited by law, complicated GOP leaders' plan Thursday to finally pass their funding bill for Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Border Patrol after a two-week delay. The opposition from a band of Republican lawmakers created massive uncertainty for a marathon series of Senate votes, known as a vote-a-rama, required as part of the reconciliation process Republicans are using to pass the immigration funding. Amending the immigration bill to address the payout fund could further divide Republicans and threaten the larger package, even as some in the GOP have indicated they would oppose the bill if it doesn't address the payout fund.

Democrats also promised to use the process to bring up a flurry of politically tricky votes, but Senate Majority Leader John Thune expressed confidence that the immigration funding would ultimately be approved. "When all the political statements have been made, we will pass the underlying bill and be one step closer to funding border security and immigration law enforcement for the next three years," he said on the Senate floor.

First amendments fail: Republicans managed to vote down multiple attempts to formally block the Trump payout fund, including a 50-49 vote to reject a Democratic motion that would have sent the bill back to committee for language to be added to officially nix the fund.

"America has never seen a more clear-cut case of corruption than Donald Trump's slush fund," Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said before bringing up that amendment. "Trump sues Trump, Trump settles with Trump, Trump gives Trump Americans' taxpayer dollars."

Three Republicans voted for the Democratic motion: Sens. Susan Collins of Maine, Jon Husted of Ohio and Dan Sullivan of Alaska, all of whom face tough reelection fights. GOP leaders held the vote open for more than two hours to address concerns from other Republicans and ensure that the amendment failed to clear the simple majority threshold it needed to be adopted.

12 Republicans vote to target payout fund: Senators also rejected an amendment proposed by retiring Republican Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina that would have redirected money that would have been used for the "anti-weaponization" fund toward "fraud enforcement" at the Justice Department. That amendment failed in a bipartisan 15-84 vote that saw 11 Republicans and three Democrats join with Tillis.

The Senate also voted 46-53 to reject an amendment to prohibit funding for Trump's White House ballroom.

How we got here: Critics have decried the administration's payout plan, calling it a slush fund designed to direct taxpayer money to President Trump's allies. The idea that rioters who attacked the Capitol on January 6, 2021, would stand to benefit had drawn widespread outrage, including from lawmakers.

Republicans had hoped to defuse the threat posed by the "anti-weaponization" fund and ensure that it did not imperil their funding bill. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche told a House panel Tuesday that the administration will not move ahead with its plan, but he refused to put that pledge in writing. Trump then sowed new doubts about the issue when he told reporters yesterday that he was not sure if the fund is finished or just on hold, adding that he loves the idea of the fund and believes it to be important.

What's next: If the bill makes it through the Senate tonight, House GOP leaders are looking to vote on it Friday. Some House Republicans are also intent on blocking the "anti-weaponization" fund, meaning that there could be more drama ahead. Republican leaders are eager to wrap up this reconciliation package and move on to other priorities as election season heats up.

Trump to Boost Coal Industry With $700 Million in New Funding

President Trump on Thursday announced that he is invoking the Defense Production Act of 1950 to provide hundreds of millions of dollars in federal support for the coal industry.

The Cold War-era law gives the president broad powers to shape key industries involved in national defense and emergency preparedness. Trump's move makes $500 million available under the DPA to coal mining firms, coal-fired electricity plants and coal exporters, part of a broader effort to boost domestic oil, gas and coal production at a time when energy prices are soaring.

Thirteen coal-fired plants will share $425 million in funding, Bloomberg reports. Companies benefiting from the funds include Duke Energy, Hallador Energy and Oklahoma Gas & Electric. Another $75 million will be used for a new coal export facility in Oakland, California.

In addition to the Defense Production Act funds, the Energy Department will provide $185 million in separate grants to build new coal-fired plants in Alaska and West Virginia, and to restart a facility in Maryland.

"Today, we're taking historic action to bring down the price of energy and the cost of living for all Americans with the power of clean, beautiful coal," Trump said at an event at the White House. "If you look at China, if you look at so many of the successful countries, they're using coal."

Environmentalists have criticized the move, calling it short-sighted. "This is like throwing cash at horse and buggies to help with gas prices," former Capitol Hill staffer Eben Burnham-Snyder told Bloomberg. "This money would keep a couple coal plants on life support for a few more years, but could instead develop several times the capacity in new solar or help deploy advanced nuclear."

Coal was once the primary source of electricity in the United States, but use of the fossil fuel has been in sharp decline. In 2025, coal accounted for about 17% of the country's electrical generation.

Number of the Day: $500

Social Security benefit recipients could see their monthly checks slashed by $500 on average in late 2032, when the retirement trust fund is projected to become insolvent, according to a new analysis by the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget.

Under current law, the Social Security system will be required to cut benefits once the retirement trust fund runs dry, and it's currently estimated that benefits would need to be reduced by 24% in order to bring revenue and spending into line.

If the 24% cut were enacted today, about 63 million people would feel the effects, and the $345 billion in total benefit reductions would equal roughly 1.1% of U.S. gross domestic product. Maine is projected to have the largest share of population affected by the cuts, at 22.9%, while Connecticut residents would see the largest cuts overall, with retirees losing $556 per month on average.

The benefit reductions would have major financial implications for retirees, with 73% depending on Social Security for more than half of their income, and 39% for the whole of their income, according to a survey published last year by The Senior Citizens League.

A spokesperson for the retiree advocacy group said it's important for Congress to act quickly to avoid the projected benefit cuts. "The Senior Citizens League believes any discussion of Social Security solvency must be grounded in the reality that millions of older Americans depend on these earned benefits to pay for housing, food, healthcare, and other essential expenses," Shannon Benton told The Hill. "Acting sooner rather than later can help restore the program's long-term solvency while minimizing the impact on beneficiaries and avoiding sudden benefit reductions that millions of Americans simply cannot afford."

National Park Fees Are Paying for Trump's Projects in Washington

The Interior Department is reportedly using at least $90 million in entrance fees paid at America's national parks to cover the cost of President Trump's projects in Washington, including repairs to the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool and an extensive fireworks display scheduled for the July 4th holiday.

The Washington Post's Jake Spring, Dan Diamond and Naema Ahmed report that the repairs to fountains and statues around the nation's capital will cost an estimated $76 million, while the fireworks will cost $1.6 million - about five times more than average.

The fees are being redirected from parks nationwide, and advocates say that shift is making it harder to pay for basic needs at the parks such as maintenance, repairs, and improvements. Roughly 20% of all entrance fees are placed in a general fund for use anywhere in the country, and so far this year, about $105 million from that general fund has been dedicated to the region around the capital, while just $27 million has been approved for everywhere else.

"That is not how it was designed to work," Ed Stierli of the National Parks Conservation Association, an advocacy group, told the Post. "It shouldn't just be all at one park at the expense of the entire national park system."

Katie Martin, a spokesperson for the Interior Department, said the administration is looking for alternative ways to cover the cost of deferred maintenance projects, including the use of "endowment funds." Martin also said "we should all be grateful" for the fact that the president is so focused on projects in the nation's capital.

Critics, though, say there is a cost of focusing so much on one spot. Aaron Weiss, the executive director of the Center for Western Priorities, a conservation group, told The New York Times that the national parks can ill afford more deferred maintenance. "Our parks and public lands have been underfunded for decades, and there are many genuinely urgent projects in need of funding across the country," he said. "Instead, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum is determined to divert millions of dollars to projects that President Trump can see out his window."

Fiscal News Roundup

• Senate Rejects First Effort to Bar Trump From Creating $1.8B Settlement Fund – Associated Press
• Trump Announces $700 Million in New Support for Struggling Coal Industry – Associated Press
• Oil Industry Warns Trump Administration of Price Spikes Within Weeks – Politico
• Collins Bucks GOP on Amendment to Address Insurance Companies Denying Medical Care – The Hill
• House Poised to Pass Ukraine Aid Over the Objections of Republican Leaders – Associated Press
• Lawmakers Demand Answers About $620M Pentagon Loan to Firm Tied to Trump Jr. – Defense One
• Trump's 'Big Beautiful Bill' Has a 'Double Taxation' Trap for Top Earners, Tax Experts Say – CNBC
• US to Reach $41T Debt Ceiling as Soon as Late Winter, Forecasters Predict – Politico
• Social Security Checks Could Be Cut by $500 a Month in 2032, Report Finds – CBS News
• The $9 Billion Liability Across the Street From the Capitol – Politico
• Trump Strips Job Protections From 8,000 Federal Workers – NPR
• Trump's Medicaid Work Rules Force States to Scrap Plans and Rework Systems – KFF Health News
• Trump Eyes His Next DC Renovation: The Lincoln Memorial – Politico
• SpaceX Wins Tax Exemption for $55B AI Chip Plant Despite Local Backlash – Financial Times
• Inside the Trump-Backed Push to Bring AI Doctors Into American Medicine – Washington Post
• The Kennedy Who Says She Left the White House Over Concerns About CIA Spending – Wall Street Journal

Views and Analysis

• How Funding Cuts Left the World Vulnerable to Ebola – Jason Gale and Jessica Nix, Bloomberg
• As Ebola Outbreak Widens, Trump Has Yet to Outline a Plan – Apoorva Mandavilli, New York Times
• Blanche Faces Uncertain Path Through Senate – Jordain Carney, Politico
• John Thune Breaks With Trump on DNI Pick Bill Pulte, Weaponization Fund – Lindsey Granger, The Hill
• Trump's Empire of Debt – John Plender, Financial Times
• The Risks the Wealth Tax Advocates Are Ignoring – Daniel Bunn, Tax Foundation
• New Forecasts Lay Out 2 Rocky Paths for Global Economy – Courtenay Brown, Axios
• The Oil Market Is Near a Tipping Point – Spencer Jakab, Wall Street Journal
• The Democratic Party's Future Is on the Ballot in June – Andrew Howard and Lisa Kashinsky, Politico
• What Rubio's 2 Days on the Hill Foretell for 2028 – Felicia Schwartz, Giselle Ruhiyyih Ewing and Phelim Kine, Politico
• Trump's Consumer Watchdog Lets Big Business Out of Millions Owed – Noah Buhayar, Coulter Jones and Ted Mann, Bloomberg