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House Republicans rip into Senate for delaying immigration reconciliation package: ‘I’m very frustrated’

May 22, 2026 12:20pm EDT / Fox News

Trump wanted a bill on his desk by June 1, but the GOP will not meet that deadline

https://www.foxnews.com/video/6396305770112

Deadlocked GOP congressional leaders send lawmakers home until June

Fox News chief congressional correspondent Chad Pergram reports on division amongst congressional Republicans over a $1.8 billion compensation fund on ‘Special Report.’

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House Republicans are reportedly frustrated by the Senate GOP’s move to kick the can down the road instead of voting on a budget reconciliation package pertaining to immigration enforcement this week.

“The Senate’s demonstrated once again that they don’t even know how to get their work done properly,” Republican Rep. Byron Donalds of Florida said, according to The Hill.

President Donald Trump is backing Donalds for Florida governor.

“It’s gutless, and I’m very frustrated,” Republican Rep. Tim Burchett of Tennessee said, according to the outlet. “They need to work. They didn’t want to work …. The Senate ought to be calling on the leadership over there. If the House did it, I’d be doing it too.”

SENATE GOP ERUPTS OVER TRUMP DOJ ‘ANTI-WEAPONIZATION’ FUND, PUNTS ICE, BORDER PATROL FUNDING

The U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., on Thursday, May 21, 2026.(Aaron Schwartz/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

“I’m frustrated that it’s not done, but hopeful that they can finish it up when they come back, I guess, and we can get this done,” Rep. Mike Flood, R-Neb., said, according to The Hill.

Fox News Digital reached out to the White House.

President Donald Trump indicated on Truth Social in April that he wanted a bill on his desk by June 1 to provide funding for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and U.S. Border Patrol.

The Justice Department recently announced an “Anti-weaponization Fund,” noting in a press release “that as a part of the settlement agreement in President Donald J. Trump v. Internal Revenue Service,the Attorney General established ‘The Anti-Weaponization Fund’ to provide a systematic process to hear and redress claims of others who suffered weaponization and lawfare.”

TRUMP ADMIN PUSHES BACK ON ‘SLUSH FUND’ ATTACKS AGAINST ANTI-WEAPONIZATION FUND AND LAYS OUT WHO QUALIFIES

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche met with Senate Republicans on Thursday.

Sources told Fox News Digital that over two dozen Republicans demanded answers from Blanche on what kind of guardrails could be put into the fund, and specifically if those convicted for assaulting police officers during the Jan. 6, 2021, riots could be excluded.

There have been discussions of including those guardrails into the reconciliation package, given that the Senate Judiciary Committee, which oversees the DOJ, is a major part of the process.

A spokesperson for the Justice Department told Fox News Digital that Blanche had a “healthy discussion on the settlement.”

“He made clear that the Anti-Weaponization Fund announced Monday has nothing to do with reconciliation. Indeed, not a single dime from the money the president is seeking in reconciliation would go toward anything having to do with the fund,” the spokesperson said. “We will continue to work with the Senate to get critical reconciliation funds approved.”

President Donald Trump arrives at the commencement ceremony on Cadet Memorial Field at the United States Coast Guard Academy in New London, Conn., on May 20, 2026.(Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

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Trump declared in a Friday Truth Social post, “I gave up a lot of money in allowing the just announced Anti-Weaponization Fund to go forward. I could have settled my case, including the illegal release of my Tax Returns and the equally illegal BREAK IN of Mar-a-Lago, for an absolute fortune. Instead, I am helping others, who were so badly abused by an evil, corrupt, and weaponized Biden Administration, receive, at long last, JUSTICE!”

Fox News Digital’s Alex Miller and Fox News Channel’s Chad Pergram contributed to this report.

Alex Nitzberg is a writer for Fox News Digital.

Judge dismisses charges against Kilmar Abrego Garcia, saying Todd Blanche spurred a ‘tainted investigation’

2026-05-22 3:28 PM ET / CNN

By Holmes Lybrand

Updated May 22, 2026, 3:53 PM ET

PUBLISHED May 22, 2026, 3:28 PM ET

Kilmar Abrego, the migrant whose wrongful deportation to El Salvador made him a symbol of U.S. President Donald Trump’s aggressive immigration policies, walks to the car, after appearing for a check-in at the ICE Baltimore field office, a day after his release from criminal custody in Pennsylvania, in Baltimore, Maryland, on December 12, 2025.

Evelyn Hockstein/Reuters

Summary

• A federal judge in Tennessee dismissed criminal charges against Kilmar Abrego Garcia, citing a tainted investigation.
• The judge’s opinion cited public statements Todd Blanche made on Fox News about reopening the investigation.
• The judge wrote that the evidence before the court reflected an abuse of prosecuting power by the Executive Branch.

AI-generated summary was reviewed by a CNN editor.

The criminal charges against Kilmar Abrego Garcia — the man the Trump administration deported to El Salvador last year despite a judge’s order barring his removal to the country – have been dismissed by a federal judge in Tennessee, who cited a “tainted investigation” by now-acting Attorney General Todd Blanche.

When he was transported back to the US last year, Abrego Garcia was immediately charged with two counts over allegedly transporting unlawful migrants in 2022. His attorneys fought the charges, saying they should be dismissed because they were selective and vindictive because of the administration’s public missteps in deporting Abrego Garcia.

“The objective evidence here shows that, absent Abrego’s successful lawsuit challenging his removal to El Salvador, the Government would not have brought this prosecution,” Judge Waverly Crenshaw wrote in his opinion dismissing the counts Friday.

The judge added that the investigation into the 2022 traffic stop was closed, and “only after Abrego succeeded in vindicating his rights did the Executive Branch reopen that investigation.”

“The evidence before this Court sadly reflects an abuse of prosecuting power,” Crenshaw wrote.

https://www.cnn.com/2026/05/22/politics/judge-dismisses-charges-against-kilmar-abrego-garcia

Blanche: Jan. 6 rioters’ conduct will be considered for ‘anti-weaponization’ fund payouts

3:49 • Source: CNN

Blanche: Jan. 6 rioters’ conduct will be considered for ‘anti-weaponization’ fund payouts

3:49

Role of Todd Blanche

A key aspect was the role that then-Deputy Attorney General Blanche played in what the judge says was the “tainted investigation” that led to the indictment.

After officials announced Abrego Garcia’s return to the US, Blanche said on Fox News the same day that the DOJ began looking into him after a federal judge determined he was improperly deported earlier in the year.

Attorneys for Abrego Garcia fought unsuccessfully to have Blanche testify in an evidentiary hearing for the case, relying instead on public comments Blanche had made to show the Justice Department only brought the case because of the administration’s mishap.

“Blanche’s words directly confirm that the Executive Branch reopened the criminal investigation because the Judicial Branch required the Executive Branch to facilitate Abrego’s return from El Salvador,” the judge wrote in his opinion dismissing the charges Friday.

This story is breaking and will be updated.

CBS News poll finds most Americans doubt U.S. government will ensure AI is used appropriately

May 22, 2026 12:26:00 EDT / CBS News

By Jennifer De Pinto

Updated on: May 22, 2026 / 12:28 PM EDT / CBS News

Most Americans continue to believe AI will reduce the number of jobs in the U.S., but that’s not their only AI concern. They are also skeptical about whether the U.S. government will implement a policy to ensure the technology is used appropriately.

That skepticism is fairly widespread. Majorities across age groups and education levels don’t think government policy will ensure AI is used appropriately. Democrats and independents share that view, while Republicans are generally divided.

Meanwhile, people see a range of reasons AI companies are encouraging AI use — from making everyday tasks easier to replacing human workers altogether.

Two-thirds of Americans think U.S. government policy certainly or probably will not make sure AI is used in appropriate ways. Those who hold that view are especially likely to believe AI will cost the U.S. jobs.

When asked about a range of potential reasons AI companies and developers are encouraging AI use, big majorities see these companies giving themselves more power and replacing human workers with AI as top motives. Sizable but relatively smaller majorities also see making scientific and medical advancements and simplifying tasks for people as reasons to encourage its use.

AI and jobs

As was true over the past year, a majority of Americans continue to think AI will take away U.S. jobs.

Most younger and older Americans foresee a reduction of jobs due to AI, although younger people relatively less so.

This may be because younger Americans tend to be more familiar with AI. Previous CBS News polling has shown that younger people report using AI themselves and having a good understanding of it in higher numbers than older people.

Anthony Salvanto and Fred Backus contributed to this report.

This CBS News/YouGov survey was conducted with a nationally representative sample of 2,064 U.S. adults interviewed between May 13-15, 2026. The sample was weighted to be representative of adults nationwide according to gender, age, race, and education, based on the U.S. Census American Community Survey and Current Population Survey, as well as 2024 presidential vote. The margin of error is ±2.7 points.

Toplines

CBS News artificial intelligence poll

Trump-appointed federal judge rules against admin on Maine voter roll data

May 22, 2026 1:40pm EDT / Fox News

Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows said she helped lead a coalition of states to fight back against the DOJ’s demand

By Robert McGreevy, Fox News

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A federal judge appointed by President Donald Trump dismissed a U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) lawsuit against Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows on Thursday.

The lawsuit, brought against Bellows in September, alleged that Maine violated federal election laws when the state refused to turn over data about Maine voters to the federal government.

Bellows argued that the DOJ did not provide an explanation for how it planned to use the data they requested, which included the names of everybody on Maine’s voter rolls as well as driver’s license numbers, partial Social Security numbers and full dates of birth.

She rejected the DOJ’s request in August and then filed a motion to dismiss the federal lawsuit in December.

TRUMP-APPOINTED FEDERAL JUDGE TOSSES DOJ LAWSUIT SEEKING ARIZONA VOTER DATA

Maine Secretary of State and candidate for Governor Shenna Bellows speaks during a May Day rally organized by local unions, on May 1, 2026, outside City Hall in Portland, Maine.(Graeme Sloan/Getty Images)

“The Gulf of Maine is awfully cold, but maybe that’s what the DOJ needs to cool down. So, here’s my answer to Trump’s DOJ today: Go jump in the Gulf of Maine,” she said in a July news conference.

On Thursday, Maine Chief U.S. District Judge Lance Walker, who Trump appointed in 2018, granted Bellows’ motion and dismissed the DOJ lawsuit.

“The United States’ requests would require me to turn a blind eye to traditional practices of federalism and how those expressions have found expression in American elections,” Walker said.

DOJ SUES SIX STATES FOR REFUSING TO TURN OVER VOTER REGISTRATION ROLLS, WARNS ‘OPEN DEFIANCE’ OF FEDERAL LAW

Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows demonstrates how Mainers are now electronically registering to vote or updating voter registration at BMV locations during a visit to the BMV in Portland on Thursday, June 23, 2022.(Shawn Patrick Ouellette/Portland Press Herald via Getty Images)

Bellows praised the ruling. “Today’s ruling affirms that the states, not the federal government, are in charge of our elections. From the moment the Trump Administration sought every American’s voter data, I said no. When they tried to bully me by suing Maine, I helped lead of coalition of states to fight back – and we’re winning. I will continue to defend every Mainer’s voting rights and their privacy,” she said in a statement.

“Let me be clear – Trump and the DOJ may continue to try to interfere with free and fair elections run by the states. We will not let them,” Bellows said. “Under our Constitution, states are the primary regulators and administrators of elections for federal office, unless Congress passes legislation that preempts that framework. And Congress’s power to do even that is itself subject to limitations.”

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche and Assistant Attorney General for the Fraud Division Colin McDonald leave the Justice Department after a news conference on the Trump administration’s anti-fraud efforts in Washington on April 7, 2026.(J. Scott Applewhite/AP)

The DOJ has sued 30 states for refusing to turn over unredacted lists of their voter rolls. Those lawsuits have been dismissed in Arizona, California, Massachusetts, Michigan, Oregon, Rhode Island and now Maine, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

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The DOJ has not publicly commented on the dismissal.

Fox News Digital contacted the DOJ and Maine secretary of state for additional comment.

‘Use social media to tame social media.’ Nearly 60-year public servant & former Senator on how to fix modern politics

2026-05-22 1:29 PM EDT / CNN

By Dana Bash, CNN

https://www.cnn.com/2026/05/22/politics/video/inside-politics-lamar-alexander-interview-education-of-a-senator

‘Use social media to tame social media.’ Nearly 60-year public servant & former Senator on how to fix modern politics

Inside Politics

For nearly 60 years Sen. Lamar Alexander dedicated his life to public service. He joins Inside Politics to reflect on all he’s seen, and how much has changed—the subject of his new book, “The Education of a Senator.” He says the arrival of “digital democracy” in 2008 “drove all politics to the extremes and left people who are center-left and center-right without anyone to vote for.” His prescription: use social media to get more people involved in primary season to get better nominees.

US tells foreigners seeking green cards: Return to your countries to apply

2026-05-22 4:15 PM UTC / Reuters

By Jasper Ward

May 22, 2026 4:15 PM UTC Updated 3 hours ago

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security seal is displayed at the FEMA National Response Coordination Center in Washington, D.C., U.S., January 24, 2026. REUTERS/Nathan Howard./File Photo

WASHINGTON, May 22 (Reuters) – Foreigners seeking to adjust their immigration status in the United States to secure green cards will ​have to do so from outside the country via ‌the State Department, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services said on Friday, in a move criticized by aid groups.

USCIS announced the move in a ​policy memo, which directed officers to consider relevant factors and ​information on a case-by-case basis when determining whether extraordinary ⁠relief is warranted.

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“An alien who is in the U.S. temporarily ​and wants a Green Card must return to their home country ​to apply,” said the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, which has oversight of USCIS.

“This policy allows our immigration system to function as the law intended ​instead of incentivizing loopholes.”

The USCIS said the new policy will ​free up agency resources to focus on processing other cases.

HIAS, an aid group ‌that ⁠provides services to refugees, among other groups of immigrants, said USCIS was forcing survivors of trafficking and abused and neglected children to return to the dangerous countries they fled in order to ​process their applications ​for green cards ⁠granting them permanent residency in the U.S.

Friday’s policy change is the latest in a series of ​steps taken by U.S. President Donald Trump over the ​last year ⁠to tighten migration to the United States.

Last year, the Trump administration moved to shorten the duration of visas for students, cultural exchange visitors and ⁠members ​of the media.

In January, the State Department ​announced that it had revoked more than 100,000 visas since Trump took office the ​year before.

Reporting by Jasper Ward in Washington; Editing by Hugh Lawson

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Tulsi Gabbard resigning as director of national intelligence, citing husband’s cancer diagnosis

2026-05-22T13:23:00-0400 / CBS News

By
Caitlin Yilek Politics Reporter
Caitlin Yilek is a politics reporter at CBSNews.com, based in Washington, D.C. She previously worked for the Washington Examiner and The Hill, and was a member of the 2022 Paul Miller Washington Reporting Fellowship with the National Press Foundation.

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Olivia Gazis
Olivia Gazis covers intelligence and international security matters for CBS News. Twice Emmy-nominated, she has traveled worldwide with the secretary of state and contributes reporting on intelligence, foreign policy and other security topics across CBS News broadcast, radio, online and streaming platforms.

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Updated on: May 22, 2026 / 3:22 PM EDT / CBS News

Washington — Tulsi Gabbard said Friday that she is resigning as the director of national intelligence, stepping aside after her husband was diagnosed with a rare form of bone cancer.

In a letter to President Trump, Gabbard said her resignation would be effective June 30.

“My husband, Abraham, has recently been diagnosed with an extremely rare form of bone cancer. He faces major challenges in the coming weeks and months. At this time, I must step away from public service to be by his side and fully support him through this battle,” she said. “I cannot in good conscience ask him to face this fight alone while I continue in this demanding and time-consuming position.”

Tulsi Gabbard’s resignation letter

Gabbard said her husband has been her “rock” during their 11-year marriage, which has included a deployment, political campaigns and her role in the Trump administration.

“His strength and love have sustained me through every challenge,” she said, adding that she is “fully committed to ensuring a smooth and thorough transition over the coming weeks.”

Tulsi Gabbard and her husband Abraham Williams hug before she is sworn in as director of national intelligence in the Oval Office on Feb. 12, 2025. ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images

Mr. Trump praised Gabbard in a post on Truth Social, saying she “has done an incredible job.” He said Aaron Lukas, Gabbard’s deputy at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, will serve as acting director in the interim.

Gabbard’s resignation was first reported by Fox News.

Gabbard is the fourth Cabinet member to leave the administration this year, following the departures of Attorney General Pam Bondi, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer.

Her departure will create an opening in a crucial role overseeing the 18 agencies that comprise the nation’s intelligence community amid the war with Iran.

Gabbard’s tenure

Gabbard, a former Democratic lawmaker who broke with her party to endorse Mr. Trump in 2024, was sworn into her post in February 2025. She had been firmly opposed to military intervention in Iran throughout her political career.

Appearing before Congress earlier this year, Gabbard did not express support for the current war, telling members that it’s up to the president to determine what constitutes an “imminent threat.”

In March, Gabbard’s top aide Joe Kent, who led the National Counterterrorism Center, resigned, saying “Iran posed no imminent threat to our nation.” Gabbard told lawmakers that Kent’s statement concerned her, without elaborating.

“Ultimately, we have provided the president with the intelligence assessments and the president is elected by the American people and makes his own decisions based on the information that’s available to him,” she said.

Before the bombings of Iran’s nuclear facilities in 2025, Mr. Trump said Gabbard was “wrong” when she testified to lawmakers earlier that year that Iran wasn’t building a nuclear weapon. Following Mr. Trump’s dismissal of the assessment, Gabbard accused the media of “taking my testimony out of context.”

Gabbard also raised alarms in January when she appeared at elections headquarters in Fulton County, Georgia, while the FBI executed a search warrant and took ballots and other records related to the 2020 election. Democrats questioned why the intelligence chief was involved in domestic law enforcement operations.

As DNI, Gabbard said last summer she would slash her office’s staff by around 40%, cutting its headcount to around 1,300. She estimated the cuts would save around $700 million annually. Gabbard said at the time that the ODNI had become “bloated and inefficient, and the intelligence community is rife with abuse of power.”

In a statement about her departure, Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia, the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, said Gabbard’s replacement “must be committed to restoring trust in the office, protecting the integrity of our intelligence, and ensuring our nation’s intelligence professionals can speak truth to power, without fear or interference.”

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said the president “must not treat this vacancy as another opportunity to reward loyalty over competence.”

“Senate Democrats will fight any nominee who puts Trump’s politics ahead of America’s security,” the New York Democrat said.

Top Republican warns Trump against making a deal with Iran: ‘Finish the job’

May 22, 2026 3:33pm EDT / Fox News

Armed Services Committee chairman says administration should let military ‘reopen the strait’ instead of negotiating

By Morgan Phillips Fox News

A top Senate Republican is publicly pressuring President Donald Trump against pursuing what he described as a weak Iran deal as administration officials signal negotiations with Tehran are making progress.

Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, issued a sharply worded warning Thursday urging Trump not to abandon military pressure on the Iranian regime in favor of diplomacy.

“We are at a moment that will define President Trump’s legacy,” Wicker said in a statement. “His instincts have been to finish the job he started in Iran, but he is being ill advised to pursue a deal that would not be worth the paper it is written on.”

REPUBLICANS URGE TRUMP TO FOLLOW THROUGH ON HIS PLAN TO DISMANTLE IRAN’S NUCLEAR CAPABILITIES

“Our commander-in-chief needs to allow America’s skilled armed forces to finish the destruction of Iran’s conventional military capabilities and reopen the strait,” Wicker went on. “Further pursuit of an agreement with Iran’s Islamist regime risks a perception of weakness. We must finish what we started. It is past time for action.”

The remarks expose growing tension inside Republican national security circles as the Trump administration weighs whether to pursue a negotiated agreement with Iran or continue its military campaign against the Iranian regime and its nuclear capabilities.

Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, issued a sharply worded warning Thursday urging Trump not to abandon military pressure on the Iranian regime in favor of diplomacy.(Anna Rose Layden/Getty Images)

The White House could not immediately be reached for comment.

Wicker’s comments came just hours after Secretary of State Marco Rubio acknowledged there had been “some progress” in ongoing negotiations with Iran, while cautioning that no agreement had been reached.

“There’s been some progress,” Rubio said Thursday. “I wouldn’t exaggerate it. I wouldn’t diminish it.”

Wicker’s comments came just hours after Secretary of State Marco Rubio acknowledged there had been “some progress” in ongoing negotiations with Iran.(Aaron Schwartz/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

“We’re not there yet,” Rubio added. “I hope we get there.”

Rubio said key issues remain unresolved, including Iran’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium and whether Tehran would be permitted any future uranium enrichment capability under a potential agreement.

“The issue of highly enriched uranium has to be discussed. Its disposition has to be dealt with. And of course, the issue of future enrichment has to be dealt with as well,” Rubio said.

He also indicated discussions involving the Strait of Hormuz remain part of broader negotiations.

The comments marked one of the clearest public signs yet that active diplomacy between Washington and Iran remains underway despite recent military escalation and fears of a wider regional conflict.

Trump himself recently signaled he remains open to giving diplomacy additional time before considering further military action.

Ships are anchored in the Strait of Hormuz off Bandar Abbas in southern Iran on May 4. A report on May 15 said a ship was seized off the coast of the United Arab Emirates and is being brought toward Iranian waters.(Amirhossein Khorgooei/ISNA/AFP via Getty Images)

“If I can save war by waiting a couple of days, if I can save people being killed by waiting a couple of days, I think it’s a great thing to do,” Trump said in recent days.

PAKISTAN’S AMBASSADOR WARNS IRAN TOO ‘WAR-TORN’ TO RESPOND QUICKLY AS TRUMP EXTENDS STRIKE DEADLINE

[image_6]

The administration’s diplomatic push has coincided with intensified regional mediation efforts, including a high-profile visit by Pakistan’s army chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir, to Iran — a trip widely viewed as part of broader backchannel efforts aimed at reducing tensions between Washington and Iran.

The visit fueled further speculation that Pakistan is playing a quiet intermediary role as negotiators explore possible frameworks to avoid additional military escalation.

Still, Rubio repeatedly emphasized Thursday that negotiations remain fragile and could ultimately collapse.

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“We’re dealing with a very difficult group of people,” Rubio said. “It may not” happen

He added that Trump “has other options” if diplomacy fails, while stressing the president still prefers “the negotiated option and having a good deal.”

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Trump’s ‘Anti-Weaponization Fund’ hit with another legal challenge

2026-05-22 3:16 PM ET / CNN

By Devan Cole

14 min ago

PUBLISHED May 22, 2026, 3:16 PM ET

President Donald Trump speaks during an event about loosening a federal refrigerant rule, in the Oval Office at the White House, Thursday, May 21, 2026, in Washington.

Jacquelyn Martin/AP

The Trump administration’s newly created nearly $1.8 billion fund for allies of President Donald Trump who say they were wrongly targeted by the government was hit with a second lawsuit on Friday, adding to the growing legal and political backlash facing the White House.

Friday, a diverse group of people and organizations — including a former federal prosecutor and a prominent government watchdog group — asked a judge in Alexandria, Virginia, to block the Trump administration from distributing any money, arguing the fund is unconstitutional and violates a series of federal laws.

Among the plaintiffs in the case are Andrew Floyd, a former federal prosecutor who worked on criminal cases brought against people who participated in the January 6, 2021, US Capitol riot, and John Caravello, a professor in California who was acquitted of charges that he assaulted a federal agent while protesting an immigration raid last year.

Also challenging the new fund is the city of New Haven, Connecticut, the National Abortion Federation and Common Cause, a watchdog group that frequently challenges controversial moves by the Trump administration.

The lawsuit comes two days after current and former police officers in Washington, DC, who defended the US Capitol during the riot sued to block implementation of the fund, arguing it could potentially be used to pay individuals who participated in the attack and finance various paramilitary organizations in the country – both of which they say would be unlawful.

The fund announced Monday was born out of an extraordinary settlement reached between the Trump administration and Trump, one of his adult sons and the Trump Organization in a lawsuit they brought in January over the unauthorized disclosure of Trump’s tax information years ago.

The fund, which will be run by five commissioners selected by the attorney general, will review claims submitted by people who say they were unfairly targeted by previous administrations. The massive pot of money is being drawn from the DOJ’s Judgment Fund, which is taxpayer money set aside by Congress for monetary settlements the government reaches.

In the new lawsuit, the plaintiffs specifically challenge the Trump administration’s decision to draw from the Judgment Fund for the new program, arguing it’s unlawful because the underlying legal case was “meritless” given the president’s unique role as both a plaintiff and the Executive Branch agencies that were named defendants in the lawsuit.

They also say the fund violates the Constitution by usurping Congress’ authority over the country’s purse strings, among other things.

“This latest attempt by the Trump-Vance administration to make grift great again is profoundly unlawful and will not withstand judicial scrutiny,” said Skye Perryman, the president and CEO of Democracy Forward and one of the attorneys who filed the lawsuit. “This lawsuit is about protecting the rule of law and preventing a dangerous abuse of government power, and we will keep showing up in court to hold this administration accountable.”

The new fund has drawn criticism from Democrats and even some members of Trump’s own party, with Senate Republicans saying this week that they were blindsided by it and at odds over how to rein it in, CNN reported.

During a private meeting with acting Attorney General Todd Blanche on Thursday, several senators had warned that the party’s major immigration enforcement bill could be derailed with the issue of the fund hanging over them, according to a person familiar with the matter, and hardly any members spoke up in the meeting to defend it.

President Trump won’t attend son Donald Trump Jr.’s wedding, citing responsibilities in Washington

May 22, 2026 / 2:03 PM EDT / CBS News

Washington— President Trump on Friday said he won’t be attending the wedding of his son, Donald Trump Jr., to Bettina Anderson this weekend, citing responsibilities at the White House.

“While I very much wanted to be with my son, Don Jr., and the newest member of the Trump Family, his soon to be wife, Bettina, circumstances pertaining to Government, and my love for the United States of America, do not allow me to do so,” the president wrote on Truth Social. “I feel it is important for me to remain in Washington, D.C., at the White House during this important period of time. Congratulations to Don and Bettina!”

The wedding is reportedly in the Bahamas. On Thursday, Mr. Trump said he may not attend because of the situation with Iran, among other things.

“He’d like me to go,” the president said when asked on Friday whether he would attend his son’s wedding. “But it’s going to be just a small little private affair. And I’m going to try and make it. I’m in the midst — I said, you know, this is not good timing for me. I have a thing called Iran and other things. That’s one I can’t win on. If I do attend, I get killed. If I don’t attend, I get killed. By the fake news, of course, I’m talking about.”

On Friday, the president didn’t mention specific responsibilities with the war or other matters that would cause him to stay in Washington. The president’s updated schedule for Saturday and Sunday lists only “executive time” at the White House.

It’s a second marriage for Don Jr., who has five children with his first wife, Vanessa. They divorced in 2018, during Mr. Trump’s first term in office.