The Meeting That Collapsed Everything

On May 21, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche was yanked from a scheduled press conference on Minnesota fraud and redirected to Capitol Hill to save the $1.776 billion anti-weaponization fund. It didn't work.

The two-hour closed-door meeting with Senate Republicans was described by a source familiar with the session — speaking to Semafor — as a "shitshow." Multiple GOP senators unloaded on Blanche directly. Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) told NOTUS afterward: "No one held back."

When the meeting ended, Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) pulled the vote on the entire $72 billion immigration enforcement package and sent members home early for a weeklong Memorial Day recess.

Thune Admits It: White House Blindsided Him

Thune confirmed to reporters Thursday that the administration did not consult him before rolling out the fund. His exact words, according to MS NOW: "It would've been nice if they consulted."

He added the administration "probably would have gotten plenty of advice from lots of folks about it." Then: "It's water under the bridge now."

The Senate Majority Leader of the president's own party said on the record that a $1.776 billion program was dropped into a live piece of priority legislation with ZERO coordination. No heads-up. No strategy session. Nothing.

"We will pick up where we left off," Thune said. Trump's June 1 deadline is now dead.

The DOJ's Last-Ditch One-Pager

In a last-ditch attempt to salvage the fund, the Department of Justice circulated a one-page memo to GOP senators Thursday outlining what the fund is supposed to do. Obtained by MS NOW, the document described the fund as designed to "hear and redress claims of Americans who suffered from lawfare and weaponization, defined as the use of government power to target them for 'improper and unlawful' reasons."

One page. For a $1.776 billion program. That's all the White House sent to calm a full Senate revolt.

It didn't calm anything.

The Cornyn Factor: Thune Names It

Thune acknowledged the political atmosphere — meaning Trump's endorsement of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton over incumbent Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) — played a role in senators' mood. "It's hard to divorce anything that happens here from what's happening in the political atmosphere around us," he told reporters, according to Punchbowl News.

Former Rep. Don Bacon (R-NE) was more direct on CNN Thursday, saying Trump "did himself no benefit by going after respected senators" and that the blowback was predictable. "He should have anticipated this and thought like 2 or 3 moves down the road," Bacon said.

Bacon specifically flagged Cornyn's role as one of the top Senate fundraisers: "There are a lot of senators that owe their reelections to a large degree to Senator Cornyn." The Paxton endorsement didn't just sting Cornyn — it sent a chill through every senator who'd benefited from his fundraising network.

VP JD Vance poured fuel on that fire Tuesday when he told Breitbart that the endorsement "sends a message" and warned lawmakers to "serve the people who sent you" or face consequences. Punchbowl News senior reporter Andrew Desiderio noted that Vance's quote was actively circulating among GOP senators who took issue with the framing.

What the Left Is Saying — and Overstating

Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA) called the fund "an impeachable offense" on MSNBC Thursday, comparing it to Watergate "on steroids." Former Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) said on MSNBC that Republican colleagues privately told him they were "absolutely delighted" the parliamentarian blocked it from reconciliation.

Those quotes make headlines. The fund being constitutionally questionable and politically toxic is well established. Calling it an impeachable offense is a Democratic fundraising argument, not a legal analysis. Blumenthal floating the idea of a future Democratic lawsuit to "claw back" the money if they win the midterms is further from the present reality.

Former CNN anchor Jim Acosta asked Thursday on his program whether he personally qualifies for the fund — since Trump had been critical of his coverage.

The Collateral Damage: ICE and Border Patrol Go Unfunded

A $72 billion immigration enforcement package — funding for ICE, Customs and Border Patrol — just got shelved because the White House didn't coordinate a $1.8 billion side program with its own Senate leadership.

House Republicans are furious at the Senate, according to The Hill. Trump set a June 1 deadline. That deadline is gone.

The administration's border security agenda — one of its strongest political assets — just got derailed by its own DOJ over internal disorganization.

What Happens Now

Thune didn't get a phone call. Blanche's one-pager convinced nobody. Senators went home. The June 1 deadline is dead.

The anti-weaponization fund may or may not have legal merit. But the way it was launched, without coordination, dropped into live legislation, with zero Senate buy-in, managed to blow up one of Trump's top priorities in a single afternoon.