Republicans Flee Work Early to Avoid Voting on Trump’s Slush Fund

Republicans in the Senate went home earlier than scheduled, abandoning a key budget vote so they wouldn’t also have to vote on the slush fund.

Republican senators oppose President Trump’s “Anti-Weaponization Fund” so much that they’re going home early.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune announced to his colleagues Thursday afternoon that the Senate will recess until June without a vote on their planned reconciliation bill to fund controversial parts of the government, such as Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The House is expected to dismiss early, as well, as a scheduled meeting between Speaker Mike Johnson and Trump on Thursday was instead canceled.

The original plan was to vote this week on the legislation, which would have provided about $70 billion to fund immigration enforcement through 2029. But Democrats promised to introduce a series of amendments to the bill forcing Republicans to vote on the slush fund, as well. To avoid those votes, Republicans have chosen to skip town.

A meeting earlier Thursday between acting Attorney General Todd Blanche and Senate Republicans on the fund went very poorly, with at least 25 Republican senators speaking out against it.

Republicans are also divided over funding for Trump’s ballroom, which is now unlikely to make it into the final version of the bill, whenever that comes. Trump had set a June 1 deadline to sign the bill into law, but that can’t happen if both the Senate and the House are out of session.

Most Americans can’t decide to skip working the next day and start their vacations early just because they have tough decisions at work. But for Republicans in Congress, it’s easier to just keep kicking the can down the road rather than try to fix their terrible policies.

Trump Says He’s Known His Son “a Long Time”

Donald Trump mulled skipping his son’s wedding in the weirdest way possible.

Donald Trump just illustrated exactly how close he is with his children.

The president told reporters at the White House Thursday that he will likely miss his son Don Jr.’s wedding this weekend, citing national security concerns related to the war with Iran. But his explanation suddenly veered into the absurd when he referred to his 48-year-old offspring as someone he’s “known for a long time.”

“He’d like me to go,” Trump said. “It’s gonna be just a small, little, private affair. I’m gonna try and make it, I’m in the midst—I said, ‘You know, this is not good timing for me. I have a thing called Iran and other things.’”

Trump then went on to blame the “fake news” for his impending decision, claiming that he would be raked over the coals by the press whether or not he attended. “That’s one I can’t win on,” Trump said.

But Trump has found plenty of time for other nonwork activities. Since returning to office, he has hit the links at least 106 times, spending more than a fifth of his term—about 21.95 percent—golfing, putting him on pace to exceed the 307 days he spent golfing over the course of his first term. That begs the question: Does his son’s wedding rank lower in his priorities than teeing up?

“He’s uh—he’s been a very, a person I’ve known for a long time,” Trump concluded on the topic of his first child. “Hopefully they’re gonna have a great marriage.”

Reporter: Are you attending your son’s wedding?Trump: He’d like me to go. I’m going to try. I said, this is not good timing for me. I have a thing called Iran and other things. He’s a person I’ve known for a long time. pic.twitter.com/lGdjvU7oD0— Acyn (@Acyn) May 21, 2026

Reporter: Are you attending your son’s wedding?Trump: He’d like me to go. I’m going to try. I said, this is not good timing for me. I have a thing called Iran and other things. He’s a person I’ve known for a long time. pic.twitter.com/lGdjvU7oD0

Don Jr. and Bettina Anderson, a Palm Beach socialite, are expected to wed over Memorial Day weekend at a private ceremony in the Bahamas. The couple had, at one point earlier in the planning process, reportedly considered getting married at the White House—though those plans were scrapped due to the optics of a “lavish” wedding during wartime.

“They’re very aware that a lavish wedding at the White House while people are dying wouldn’t be well-received,” an insider told Page Six.

It will be Don Jr.’s second marriage, after his 13-year union to Vanessa Trump ended in 2018. The two share five children together and are said to be friendly toward one another (Vanessa’s health also clouds the happy couple’s weekend: She announced on Wednesday that she was diagnosed with breast cancer).

The eldest Trump child was previously engaged to former Trump adviser Kimberly Guilfoyle, though their four-year engagement was called off after Don Jr. was photographed getting cozy with Anderson. Guilfoyle is now the U.S. ambassador to Greece.

Senate Republicans in Uproar After DOJ Meeting on Slush Fund

The Trump administration is having a hard time selling the “Anti-Weaponization Fund” to Republicans in Congress.

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche is running into strong opposition from Republicans on Capitol Hill over President Trump’s $1.776 billion “Anti-Weaponization Fund.”

Punchbowl News reported that close to 25 Republican senators spoke in opposition to the fund in a reportedly hostile meeting with Blanche Thursday. That’s considered unusually high. Senators suggested imposing requirements on how the fund’s five commissioners would be chosen, and preventing anyone convicted of violence against police officers from being eligible for payment.

Before the meeting, the White House had sent a letter to Republican senators defending the fund, saying that there are no “partisan restrictions” on who can apply for the fund and that it’s open to senators “whose records were secretly subpoenaed,” a concept likely to win over Republicans investigated in Jack Smith’s January 6 probe. Senator John Curtis still left the meeting unsatisfied with Blanche’s defenses of the fund and stressed that commissioner requirements are “not enough” to win his support.

“Our majority is melting down before our eyes,” another GOP senator texted Punchbowl........

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