Republicans' Slush Fund Crash Out

Hey folks. Here’s a message from my team on my work this week. Enjoy the weekend. – MRW

Happy Friday from the Warner press office. Sen. Warner is in Northern Virginia today celebrating some of the investments made possible by his bipartisan CHIPS & Science Act, capping off another busy & successful week. He secured Senate passage of legislation honoring his friend Rep. Gerry Connolly, fought back against the Trump administration’s ballroom and slush fund grifts, and raised the alarm about Trump’s telephone company scam.

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There’s a LOT to talk about, so let’s get into it:

REPUBLICANS IN DISARRAY

For months, Republicans in the Senate have been preparing to force through a broadly unpopular & enormous spending bill to fund ICE & CBP without any guardrails at all… on top of the billions and billions in funding that Trump’s tax scam had already dedicated to ICE last year.

But this week, Republicans once again failed to get their broadly unpopular agenda through, abruptly canceling a vote on the legislation after attempting to include funding for Trump’s unpopular ballroom (which Democrats successfully got out of the bill)… and then publicly crashing out over Trump’s disastrous and corrupt $1.8 billion slush fund.

In case you missed it, Trump sued his own IRS for $10 billion… which was all just leverage to force them to come to a settlement for $1.8 billion for a “victims compensation fund” for “government weaponization.” Read: financial compensation for self-confessed cop-assaulters on Jan. 6.

Sen. Warner had been fighting all week to crush both the ballroom and the slush fund – making it clear how much further $1 billion could go for Virginia priorities than for Trump’s personal pet projects. As a reminder, he laid out the case clearly in a press release here.

Sen. Warner was also active this week in shining a light on just how corrupt the $1.8 billion slush fund is. He pressed directly on several members of the Trump administration, and said:

“I write today with grave concern regarding the establishment of the ‘Anti-Weaponization Fund’ and the potential for $1.776 billion of taxpayer funds to be laundered as part of a scheme to fund the President’s favored political campaigns and projects… Public parameters of the Fund suggest that President Trump may use it as a mechanism for siphoning taxpayer dollars to his favored political campaigns. This Fund is without precedent in American history and, once laundered through the President’s chosen political candidates and issues, it will provide a massive advantage in upcoming elections, paid for by American taxpayers.”

Sen. Warner also used his social media to express his alarm, updating followers throughout the week as the saga progressed:

After Republicans couldn’t end their infighting, they pulled their votes and sent the Senate home early. Sens. Warner and Kaine issued the following statement:

“Senate Republicans couldn’t even hold their own conference together long enough to bring this partisan bill to the floor before recess. After weeks of rushing ahead with backroom negotiations, Republicans are now openly fighting amongst themselves over a bill that would pour billions more into President Trump’s extreme immigration agenda and green-light nearly $1.8 billion in taxpayer money for a slush fund to reward Trump’s political allies – including those who violently attacked law enforcement on January 6 – as law-abiding, hardworking families across the country struggle to afford groceries, housing, health care, and energy bills.

“Republicans may have dropped their plan to force taxpayers to fund President Trump’s ballroom, but the core of this legislation remains the same: more blank checks, more partisan chaos, and more giveaways designed to benefit Donald Trump and his political allies instead of helping working Americans.

“This delay does not change what’s at stake. We will continue to oppose this reckless legislation and keep fighting for policies that lower costs, strengthen communities, and put Virginia families ahead of political favors and self-dealing.”

While Republicans are going to try and ram through their unpopular spending bill after the Memorial Day recess, Sen. Warner is as ready as ever to fight back against it. This week’s progress is a good sign that at least some Republicans are starting to grow a spine, too.

1-800-MADE-IN-CHINA

Well… I wish we were done talking about Trump grifts… but we’re just getting started. This week, Sen. Warner also raised the alarm about another Trump scam… his new company, Trump Mobile.

If you haven’t been following this story closely, here’s what’s going on. In addition to Trump fragrances, bibles, digital trading cards, and more, Trump is also now trying to get into the telecom business… something Sen. Warner – the founder of Nextel – knows a thing or two about.

His disastrous Trump Mobile venture has made countless misleading claims to consumers… suggesting that their phones were made in America… and that the “47 plan” offered “unlimited talk, data, and text.”

In reality, the phones are made in China, retail for hundreds of dollars cheaper elsewhere, are subject to a wide range of plan limitations… and the company still might not be able to fulfill all orders anyways.

Imagine you’re already paying $5/gallon for gas… Trump has done nothing to lower your rent or child care costs… and now you’re out hundreds of dollars for a scammy phone with a shoddy data plan? This scam is costing hardworking Americans, so Sen. Warner is going to bat for them.

This week, Sen. Warner pressed directly on Trump Mobile leadership to answer for some of these lies and failures.

In a letter, he wrote,

“I understand the complexities of the mobile telecommunications market, and that it can be daunting to enter a market with limited prior experience in that business. With that perspective, the delayed launch of Trump Mobile is not surprising. However, the cavalier manner in which Trump Mobile has treated its customers is shocking. Buyers of your phones and mobile service should expect that their contracts will be honored in full and not under the cloud of deceptive practices. As public reporting suggests, there seems to be significant misrepresentation in Trump Mobile’s advertising to the public.”

Rest assured, this is not the last you’ll hear from Sen. Warner on this topic – he will keep pressing to protect consumers and save Americans money.

REMEMBERING GERRY CONNOLLY

A year ago, Virginians lost the incredible Rep. Gerry Connolly, an incomparable fighter for Northern Virginians, after a battle with esophageal cancer. This week, Sen. Warner remembered his life and honored his legacy with action… by securing unanimous Senate passage of Connolly’s final piece of legislation, the Esophageal Cancer Awareness Act, which Connolly introduced just two days before his passing.

The legislation would do two major things:

• Direct GAO to help understand the landscape of esophageal cancer care among federal employees and retirees, and particularly access to early screening and early treatment.

• Ask GAO to study if federal employees who are high risk are being screened as early as possible, to help them get the care they need as early as possible.

While we can never bring back those we lost, Sen. Warner is using his seat in the Senate to honor his memory and save more lives going forward.

Sen. Warner spoke on the Senate floor to push for passage of this legislation. You can watch or download his remarks here.

He said,

“He was a fighter. He was kind and funny, but, boy, you did not want to get on the wrong side of Gerry Connolly because sometimes that fighting spirit would show itself in his relentless — in other words, getting into an argument with Gerry was not something anybody looked forward to.

“And in his final days, Gerry continued to center federal employees in his work. Two days before he died, he introduced H.R. 3490, which will direct the Government Accountability Office to report on esophageal cancer in federal employees.”

Following his speech, the Senate unanimously passed the bill. It now heads to the President’s desk for signature.

GRAB BAG

NO-FO-ING WAY: Sen. Warner joined 20 of his Senate colleagues in calling on the Department of Housing and Urban Development to undo dangerous policy changes made in the recently announced notice of funding opportunity (NOFO) for housing counseling, which would drastically narrow the activities eligible for funding under HUD’s housing counseling program.

INTELLIGENT LIFE: Sen. Warner announced that the Intelligence Committee passed the annual Intelligence Authorization Act.

MARSHALLING SUPPORT: Sen. Warner applauded the Senate’s passage of his legislation to designate the General George C. Marshall House in Leesburg, known as Dodona Manor, as an affiliated area under the National Park Service (NPS).

PUSHING FOR PATRICIA: Sen. Warner introduced legislation to designate a United States Postal Service facility in honor of Patricia Paige, longtime member of the New Kent County Board of Supervisors.

WHEN GOD SHUTS A DOOR, HE OPENS A (DISCOUNT) WINDOW: Sen. Warner introduced the Discount Window Preparedness Act of 2026, legislation to improve the effectiveness of the Federal Reserve discount window, a liquidity tool that provides short-term loans to depository institutions, such as commercial and community banks in order to support the liquidity and stability of the banking system, and help implement monetary policy effectively.

WELCOME TO MY (ARLINGTON) HOUSE: Sen. Warner requested that the National Park Service (NPS) immediately return a Junior Ranger Program activity booklet to circulation in its original form ahead of America 250 events, which are expected to bring millions of visitors to Virginia and the National Capital Region.

CASH IS FLYING IN: Sen. Warner announced $73,600,752 in federal funding to improve three Virginia airports.

OBSTRUCTING OLSEN: Sen. Warner joined ten Democratic colleagues in calling for election-denier Kurt Olsen’s removal as Director of Election Security and Integrity at the White House.

MEANINGFUL HEALTH CARE WINS: Sen. Warner celebrated the House Ways and Means Committee passage of his bipartisan Equitable Community Access to Pharmacist Services (ECAPS) Act, legislation to ensure seniors can continue to access important clinical services from their pharmacist, and provisions from his Hospice Care Accountability, Reform, and Enforcement (Hospice CARE) Act to protect patients and taxpayers from fraud and expand access to essential hospice services.

THE WEEK AHEAD

The Senate will be in recess next week for the Memorial Day holiday. When the Senate returns, Sen. Warner will resume fighting against the disastrous Republican reconciliation proposal.

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