Senator Rand Paul just saved ICE funding from a backstabbing Republican who tried to slip a poison pill into a straightforward border security bill — and President Trump is taking a well-deserved victory lap. Senator Bill Cassidy of Louisiana attempted to attach an amendment that would have torpedoed the Department of Justice's $1.776 billion anti-weaponization fund, a move designed to rally Democrats against a clean ICE and Border Patrol funding bill.
Because nothing says "team player" like joining hands with Chuck Schumer's caucus to gut immigration enforcement.
Paul, the Kentucky Republican who's made a career out of being the one guy in the room who actually reads the bills, spotted the poison pill and killed it dead. The amendment had nothing to do with border security — it was an unrelated provision designed to make the bill toxic enough that Democrats could rally against it and peel off enough squishy Republicans to sink the whole thing. Classic Washington sabotage dressed up as principled governance, as reported by Just The News.
The $1.776 billion anti-weaponization fund was created as part of a settlement ending President Trump's IRS lawsuit over the leak of his tax returns. You might remember that little scandal — IRS contractor Charles Littlejohn stole Trump's private tax information and handed it to the media. The fund exists specifically to prevent the federal government from being turned into a weapon against American citizens. Cassidy wanted to kill it.
Paul didn't mince words about what Cassidy tried to pull. "There should never be a situation where any Republican who campaigned on America First agenda turns around & rallies with Democrats to poison-pill a straightforward bill funding ICE & Border Patrol," Paul said. "I shot down this unrelated amendment, and we got the funding passed."
Clean. Efficient. Done.
President Trump noticed, too. He hopped on Truth Social to give Paul a well-earned pat on the back: "Very Impressive. Proud of you!"
Now let's talk about why Cassidy thought this was a good idea. This is the same Bill Cassidy who voted to convict President Trump in the second impeachment trial. The same Bill Cassidy who just got absolutely humiliated in his own primary, finishing third behind Representative Julia Letlow and Louisiana State Treasurer John Fleming. Third place. In his own state. Behind two people most Americans have never heard of.
So we've got a lame-duck senator who already betrayed his party's leader, already got rejected by his own voters, and decided to spend his remaining time in office trying to sabotage a $70 billion immigration enforcement package. That's not principle. That's spite.
The good news is that Paul caught it, killed it, and the funding passed anyway.
The bad news for Bill Cassidy is that we all saw it. Enjoy retirement, Senator. You earned it.
