Senate Republicans Reject Amendment to Bar Jan. 6 Capitol Riot Compensation Fund
Senate Republicans blocked Senator Chris Coons' amendment to prohibit payments from Trump's $1.8 billion anti-weaponization fund to January 6 rioters who assaulted police, defeating it 54-45.
Objective Facts
Senator Chris Coons introduced an amendment to block payments from the $1.8 billion anti-weaponization fund to January 6 rioters convicted of assaulting law enforcement, but Senate Republicans blocked it 54-45, falling short of the 60 votes needed. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer's earlier motion to codify that the fund wouldn't compensate Jan. 6 participants also failed 49-50, with the vote held open for hours. Senator Bill Cassidy's amendment to repurpose the fund for Capitol police officers who were injured garnered support from six Republicans but also fell short of the 60-vote threshold. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche told Congress the DOJ planned to drop the fund, but Senate Republicans refused to codify this in legislation. The Senate ultimately passed the immigration enforcement bill 52-47 Friday morning, with Senator Murkowski as the only Republican joining Democrats in opposition.
Left-Leaning Perspective
Senator Chris Coons and Democrats pushed an amendment stating 'The Department of Justice may not use taxpayer funds to make settlement payments to any individual convicted of assaulting law enforcement officers' during January 6, arguing that 'if the administration won't rule out potentially multimillion-dollar payments to those who assaulted police on these grounds, we must.' Senator Ed Markey characterized the Republican rejection as backing a 'cash-for-criminals program,' accusing Republicans of 'siding with Donald Trump' and his 'desire to keep this on track' to preserve discretionary dispensal authority. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer vowed Democrats would not stop until the fund is 'well and truly buried,' describing it as Trump's 'most brazen act of self-dealing' and 'one of the most corrupt schemes ever launched by a president,' and pledged to pursue amendments to 'ban the slush fund permanently and forever.' Progressive advocacy groups like Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington called compensation for Jan. 6 rioters 'as preposterous as it is dangerous,' with Virginia Canter of Democracy Defenders Action stating 'It would be unconscionable to reward the rioters who assaulted law enforcement officers that day with payouts from the Trump administration after being pardoned.' Democratic arguments emphasized that 'dozens of Trump-pardoned Jan. 6 defendants have since faced new criminal allegations,' undermining claims that compensation was justified. Critics noted that despite Republicans expressing dismay, 'the GOP majority in the Senate rejected every effort to block the president's $1.776 billion payout and left it intact.'
Right-Leaning Perspective
President Trump defended the fund in podcast interviews and from the Oval Office, arguing people targeted by a 'crooked government' 'should be reimbursed' and characterizing Jan. 6 rioters as people 'who went there with love' and 'have been abused.' Vice President JD Vance portrayed the fund as addressing 'lawfare' from the Biden administration, defending review on a 'case-by-case basis' and emphasizing 'innocent until proven guilty,' even for those 'accused of attacking law enforcement officers.' Senator Thom Tillis, joined by 12 Republicans including John Cornyn and Bill Cassidy, forced a vote on an amendment to redirect the fund toward anti-fraud efforts, saying 'When you're explaining, you're losing' and urging the 'stump speech test': 'I stand solidly behind an administration that wants to potentially provide compensation to people who assaulted Capitol Police officers. I stand fully behind that. Test that on the stump and see how it works out for you.' Senator Cassidy signed an amicus brief with Senator Cory Booker calling the fund 'an immediate and dire threat to our constitutional order and the authority of Congress.' Former Vice President Mike Pence called the fund 'a bad idea from the start' and stated 'It's deeply offensive to me that you could have a fund that could even possibly compensate people who assaulted police officers,' while Senator Tillis described it as a 'payout pot for punks.' However, despite these Republican critics voting against multiple amendments to kill the fund, GOP leadership ultimately ensured the main bill passed with the fund technically intact.
Deep Dive
The $1.8 billion fund originated from a settlement of Trump's $10 billion civil lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service over the 2019 leak of his tax returns by a former contractor. The Trump administration has taken steps toward absolving nearly 1,600 people charged or convicted in relation to the Capitol attack, having granted blanket clemency to nearly all individuals convicted of or charged with January 6 offenses on the first day of Trump's second term. When Senator Coons questioned Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche about potential payments to Jan. 6 rioters who assaulted police, Blanche refused to rule it out; more than 1,500 people were convicted of insurrection crimes and all were pardoned by Trump, with many expressing desire to collect payouts from the fund. Senator Thom Tillis, a retiring Republican, forced votes on two amendments to address the fund because he believes it is politically indefensible, arguing 'When you're explaining, you're losing' and that Republicans facing reelection cannot defend backing compensation for Capitol assaulters. Senator Bill Cassidy, who lost his primary to a Trump-backed opponent, signed an amicus brief alongside Democrat Cory Booker arguing the fund is 'an immediate and dire threat to our constitutional order and the authority of Congress.' However, despite these concerns, GOP leadership, led by Majority Leader Thune, successfully blocked efforts to pass statutory language permanently eliminating the fund, fearing parliamentary pitfalls and potential presidential veto. Trump himself undermined the narrative of the fund being dead by telling CNN 'I don't know' if it was truly abandoned and describing it as 'so important' while saying Jan. 6 rioters 'have been abused.' The Federal Tort Claims Act remains 'wide open' as an alternative pathway: even if Blanche keeps his word about abandoning the fund, settlement claims will continue because 'a DOJ run by the president's former defense lawyers can still settle such claims one by one, on its own authority, with no public hearing and no vote.' A federal judge temporarily blocked the fund, but two other lawsuits filed by Capitol police officers and Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington remain active and pending.