Senate Democrats Block $1.8B IRS Tax-Leak Settlement

Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer notified Senate Democrats on Monday that the party will launch a coordinated effort to eliminate the Trump administration's proposed $1.776 billion anti-weaponization fund. Schumer wrote in a Dear Colleague letter that Democrats will force Republicans to vote on the fund regardless of procedural tactics.

He stated that Democrats will offer amendments if Republicans return to reconciliation and will pursue the issue on the Senate floor or through appropriations if other routes are attempted.

Background on the Fund The Justice Department announced the proposal after President Trump agreed to withdraw a $10 billion lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service over a contractor leaking his tax returns. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche told Republican senators two weeks ago that Trump and members of his family would not receive payouts from the fund.

Senate Republicans left Washington for the Memorial Day recess without advancing a $72 billion budget reconciliation package funding immigration enforcement through 2029. Some Republicans proposed guardrails such as prohibiting payments to people convicted of assaulting Capitol police officers on Jan.

6, 2021, or giving Congress more authority over appointments.

Schumer called the fund President Trump's most brazen act of self-dealing yet and one of the most corrupt schemes ever launched by a president. He stated there will be no escape hatch, no fake guardrails, and no Justice Department announcement that makes the fund acceptable.

>"You do not fix a corrupt slush fund by promising to manage it better. " — Chuck Schumer, Monday (The Hill) A federal judge issued a ruling Friday temporarily blocking the administration from establishing the fund until a hearing is held later this month on a lawsuit opposing it.

Schumer said Democrats will not accept any compromises to allow the fund to move forward.