Senate Majority Leader John Thune is, according to conservatives, walking down a very dangerous path, attempting to navigate a tightrope concerning his support for President Donald Trump while also expressing disagreement or uncertainty concerning his “Anti-Weaponization Fund,” which is currently hitting legal barriers and causing growing frustration with the Republican Party.
The South Dakota Republican refused to claim victory on June 1, 2026, after the Department of Justice stated that it would comply with a federal judge’s order blocking payouts from the fund until June 12 at the latest. The pause on the fund came after a shocking court ruling on May 29, 2026, which reopened the president’s lawsuit against the IRS, which he filed over the leak of his tax returns.
However, Thune stated that the GOP is not ready to move forward. “The way the statement is worded, I think it’s clear that they’re not proceeding with the fund, but obviously whether that’s sufficient to satisfy a number of our members is something we’re still sorting through,” the senator said. And then he made a comment that raised eyebrows for conservatives.
When asked whether he was worried Trump could use his veto power on the broader funding bill if lawmakers made a move to completely ban the fund, he responded with just four words. “Oh yeah, don’t you?” That comment then fueled speculation that Thune was making fun of President Trump during a tense moment for the GOP, who are trying to keep the conference united while negotiating with Democrats over a major $70 billion immigration enforcement funding package, Trending Politics News reported.
The report went on to explain that the problem facing Republican leadership is a simple one. Democrats could attempt to force amendment votes banning the fund, which would put the GOP in a rather uncomfortable position of choosing between supporting Trump and skirting around a messy fight heading into the midterms later in the year.
Even some of the president’s most loyal allies are dissatisfied with the Trump administration’s current political posture. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-IA) stated that the president needs to be much more direct. “It’s pretty clear that the President has to say very explicitly that there’s not going to be a weaponization fund,” Grassley said.
Popular Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA), another major Trump backer in the upper chamber, had a much more colorful way of describing the fight over the fund. “The reconciliation bill looks like a broken arm with the bones sticking out,” he said. Kennedy also waved away the idea that the DOJ’s pledge to follow the court order would put the matter to bed.
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“Saying you’re going to follow a court order doesn’t tell me anything. You have to follow the court order,” Kennedy added. U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema banned the administration last week from taking any further action to create or operate the anti-weaponization fund until a hearing on June 12. The DOJ responded to the order in a statement on X, saying that it “disagrees strongly” with the decision, but “will abide by the court’s ruling.”
“The department said the fund was ‘established in order to make up for the tremendous abuse, harm, and hate unfairly shown to so many people,’ and said it is ‘open to anybody who was so weaponized, targeted, or persecuted, whether they were Democrats, Republican, Conservative, Independent, or otherwise,'” the TPN report explained. Reports have since emerged saying the Trump administration is planning to drop the fund.
The administration has stated that the money was supposed to compensate individuals that were harmed by the government’s “weaponization” and “lawfare,” which is described as the political targeting of conservatives and allies of the president. However, the fund’s opponents argue that it lacks a clear legal foundation and doesn’t have enough oversight, which could lead to it benefiting Trump loyalists.
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