Anger is brewing after Senate Majority Leader John Thune adjourned the Senate on Thursday without moving forward on a budget reconciliation bill that would have fully funded the Department of Homeland Security.
Thune told reporters afterward that the White House must first address his colleagues’ concerns about the Trump administration’s anti-weaponization fund before he moves forward with reconciliation, according to The Hill.
On Monday, the administration announced the creation of a $1.7+ billion anti-weaponization fund to be used to compensate those who were mistreated by the former Biden administration, including Jan. 6 participants.
The announcement irritated several fuddy-duddy senators, including Thom Tillis and Mitch McConnell:
GOP Senator Thom Tillis on Trump’s proposed “Anti-Weaponization” fund: “I think it’s stupid on stilts. When you take money from me to give to a purpose I vehemently disagree with, that’s tyranny.” pic.twitter.com/PLa2vvxzDN
— TheBlaze (@theblaze) May 21, 2026
“So the nation’s top law enforcement official is asking for a slush fund to pay people who assault cops?” McConnell said in a statement, borrowing his talking points straight from the Democratic Party. “Utterly stupid, morally wrong – take your pick.”
Making matters worse, both Tillis and McConnell previously eagerly voted in favor of a gigantic fund for senators who were targeted by the Biden administration’s lawfare.
Evidently, both senators are OK with compensating elected officials who were targeted by lawfare, but not everyday citizens who were also targeted.
Keep in mind, this latest development comes after congressional Republicans already took a shot at President Donald Trump by removing funding for his desired ballroom from the reconciliation bill.
“In a blow to the White House, Senate Republicans will remove a $1 billion Secret Service funding request that would help President Donald Trump’s ballroom project from their immigration enforcement funding bill amid internal objections,” Politico reported on Wednesday.
Q: “The $1 billion for ballroom—is that going to make it through the Byrd bath?”
@LeaderJohnThune: “The principal objective in this reconciliation bill is to ensure that ICE and CBP are funded.” pic.twitter.com/NK5iMLzrpI— CSPAN (@cspan) May 19, 2026
In fairness to Republicans, the ballroom funding was removed because of the non-elected Senate Parliamentarian.
“The decision to omit the security funding came after … Senate Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough ruled over the weekend that the provision didn’t comply with the strict rules governing what Republicans can put in their filibuster-skirting bill because it funded activities outside of the Judiciary Committee’s jurisdiction,” according to Politico.
However, plenty of congressional Republicans complained to the media about the ballroom funding before MacDonough made her decision.
Case in point:
Cassidy on ballroom: There’s no architectural plans. There is no environmentals. There’s no engineering. There’s no sense of when we ask, how did it happen to cost exactly a billion. I just don’t get it. pic.twitter.com/1J3Kt7S0mW
— Acyn (@Acyn) May 20, 2026
Coupled with Thune’s refusal to kill the filibuster to pass the Save Act, the latest catastrophes out of the Senate have an increasing number of Republican voters calling for the majority leader’s head on a platter.
“It is a shame all of you in the senate are so weak you will not remove Thune,” one critic tweeted. “The reconciliation bill was supposed to be done by 2 June but you all are going on vacation, again! I want a refund on the taxes that pay all of your salaries.”
“@LeaderJohnThune is an @TheDemocrats plant,” another wrote. “Leaving the parliamentarian’s poor decisions in place on the most recent reconciliation is asinine. No recess appointments, no SAVE America Act, Thune is legislating like @SenSchumer or @SenWarren . REMOVE THUNE @SenateGOP !!!!”
See more responses below:
Remove Thune, call reconciliation, or invoke the actual Filibuster and get it done. Whining about it is useless. Yap, Yap, Yap.
— jkevina (@JkevinA_TN) April 27, 2026
It only takes 5 R’s to remove Thune so why is there not 5 doing it? https://t.co/VITP6L49Xw
— SCW (@SCWOFTX) May 22, 2026
1. Remove Thune. 2. Replace him with a senator that will get rid of the filibuster and pass the Save America Act. 3. Dominate the midterms.
— Dave Vincent (@DaveVincent517) May 22, 2026
There is only one solution
Say it with me
Remove Thune
Kill the filibuster
SAVE America pic.twitter.com/vlb46Gh1y1—
(@1MichaelOffutt) May 22, 2026
If GOP Senators really want to nuke the filibuster and pass the Save America Act, then they need to remove Thune and replace him with someone who has the guts to do it.
It only takes 5 Senators.
Words are meaningless.
We want to see action. pic.twitter.com/fSHG8w2ISy
— Glockford Files (@GlockfordFiles) May 20, 2026
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