Epstein Survivors Say Republicans Ghosted Them Before Blanche Vote
“Well, there’s nothing we could do to, uh, rein in the president when he said he likes the fund and wishes it still exists, but the fact of the matter is it’s dead, and that’s all we could do under the circumstances,” Cornyn replied.
Cornyn and his fellow Republicans have had countless opportunities to rein in the president. After making a big deal about Trump’s $1.776 billion slush fund, Cornyn and his colleague, Senator Thom Tillis, settled for a weak agreement full of loopholes. And last week, Republicans shot down an amendment that would have killed Trump’s tax audit immunity, the other big issue with the president’s IRS settlement. In June, all but three Republicans voted against a Democratic attempt to kill the “Anti-Weaponization Fund.”
Senate Democrats also introduced the “Drain the Slush Fund Act” in June, but no Republicans have signed off on it. It all fits a pattern in Trump’s second term: Republicans have a problem with something Trump has proposed or is doing, then the administration reaches out to them, and then they fall in line.