LEILA FADEL, HOST:
The week ends with what appears to be growing discord within the GOP.
STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:
House Republicans called off a vote on Thursday night on a resolution that would've restrained the president's war powers. House Speaker Mike Johnson wanted Republicans to defeat that measure, but he couldn't round up enough votes, so he didn't allow them to vote at all. Both the House and Senate left for a weeklong recess without meeting the president's June 1 deadline to pass his top priority, which is funding immigration enforcement for the next three years through what's called a reconciliation bill.
FADEL: Moment, we'll hear from Jeff Flake, a former Republican senator who went against Trump. First, what bothers some Republicans now, and what are they doing about it? Here to help us answer those questions is NPR congressional correspondent Barbara Sprunt. Hi, Barbara.
BARBARA SPRUNT, BYLINE: Hi. Good morning.
FADEL: Was the immigration enforcement funding pushed back because of anything related to immigration?
SPRUNT: No. I mean, reconciliation is complicated. It's a delicate process. But that's not what's actually causing the drama this time. Senate Republicans seemed poised to pass that funding. And then President Trump made some new demands, and a critical mass of GOP senators just couldn't stomach some of them.
FADEL: Was the ballroom one of the demands?
SPRUNT: Yes, one of them. This has been a priority for the president for some time. Originally, he said it would be funded through private donations. After the shooting at the correspondence dinner, the framing around the ballroom shifted into making it a secure facility. And it has since ballooned to about a $1 billion project. And the president wanted Congress to pay for its additional security. That portion did not adhere to strict reconciliation rules and had to be taken out.
And then No. 2 is a nearly $2 billion anti-weaponization fund, which basically is aimed at giving money to people who claim that they've been wronged by the government. And that could include funding the people who ransacked the Capitol and attacked police on January 6. There were a number of Republican senators who, right out of the gate, said they were blindsided by this. Of course, this is money that hasn't been appropriated by Congress. And enough Senate Republicans were alarmed over the plan and wanted to address it before they passed this immigration funding.
FADEL: What do you think this says about the state of the relationship between the president and senators in his own party?
SPRUNT: You know, I think to say, like, tension is brewing, that's an understatement. This last week alone, the president endorsed primary challenger Ken Paxton, the Texas attorney general, against sitting Republican Senator John Cornyn, who the president likely needs to get his agenda items passed. He's also worked to oust other Republican incumbents, like Senator Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, who ultimately lost his primary election.
And what happened after that? Cassidy came out publicly against the ballroom funding. He gave the key vote to advance a stalled war powers resolution that would compel the Trump administration to pull back from the conflict with Iran. And he criticized this anti-weaponization fund. So what I'm curious about is, does this mark a new chapter, and not just a few pages, of an emboldened group of Senate Republicans who up till now have been much more hesitant to push back on the president?
FADEL: Now, Congress is out next week for the Memorial Day holiday. What happens when they come back?
SPRUNT: Well, one interesting thing is a bipartisan effort in the House to kill that anti-weaponization fund, led by Democratic Congressman Tom Suozzi and Republican Congressman Brian Fitzpatrick. And we expect reconciliation will still be dealt with in some way or another. The question that I'm thinking about and what I'll be watching to see is, does the president reconsider what he's pushing for here?
FADEL: That's NPR's Barbara Sprunt. Thank you, Barbara.
SPRUNT: Thank you. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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