Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D.N.Y.) holds a press conference on Capitol Hill regarding Senate Republicans’ postponement of a vote on the budget reconciliation bill to Thursday, May 21, 2026.
Tom Williams | Cq-roll Call Inc. | Getty Images
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York said Monday that Democrats will force Republicans to vote on the controversial “use of arms” legal relief fund promoted by President Donald Trump.
The fund, intended to compensate victims of what the administration calls “the law,” became a political flashpoint on Capitol Hill, prompting rare Republican criticism of Trump from within the Republican Party. Democrats are now trying to turn this into a bazooka to force Republicans to either defend the program or vote to repeal it.
“This week, Senate Democrats will launch a concerted effort to eliminate slush funds before a single penny is left,” Schumer said in a “Dear Colleague” letter sent to Senate Democrats on Monday. “And no matter what Republicans do, we will force them to vote.”
The fund helped stall the effort in the full Senate last month, when Republicans were trying to use the budget reconciliation process to fund immigration enforcement agencies within the Department of Homeland Security. Some Republican lawmakers said they opposed the fund when Acting Attorney General Todd Branch came to the Capitol to brief a closed session.
Without Republican participation, it is unlikely that Democrats will be able to block the fund legislatively. But it could force a vote uncomfortable for Republicans less than six months before the election.
A Virginia court on Friday temporarily blocked the Justice Department from taking any further action to create or spend money from the fund.
If Republicans reinstate the postponed measure this week, Democrats will be able to introduce an unlimited number of amendments.
“If Republicans return to reconciliation, we will prepare an amendment to close the fund,” Schumer said in a letter to his caucus. “If they try to hide this issue, we will push them into the Senate floor. If they try to use appropriations in secret, we will fight them there as well.”
Critics, including Democrats, have called the effort a “slush fund” that could be used to pay the mob that attacked police at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6.
The fund was created after President Trump dropped a $10 billion lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service over leaked tax information in 2019 and 2020. Instead of dropping the case, the Justice Department created a $1.8 billion fund to compensate those who say they were victims of what the Trump administration called “the law.”
“Government institutions should never be weaponized against any American, and it is the department’s intent to right the wrongs that have been done and ensure that they never happen again,” Blanche said in a statement when the fund’s creation was announced.
“As part of this settlement, we are establishing a legal process for victims of misconduct and weapons use to be heard and seek redress,” Blanche said.
