Senate Republicans are exploring using their major immigration crackdown bill to curb a Justice Department fund that President Trump has said he wants to use to pay people who claim to have been unfairly targeted by the government.
The president’s proposal, part of a deal struck between his lawyers and his own administration to use money that Congress does not control, has met with resistance among several G.O.P. lawmakers.
“Our members have very legitimate questions about it, and we’ve had some conversations about if it’s going to be a feature going forward, what it might look like, and how we might make sure that it’s fenced in appropriately,” Senator John Thune, Republican of South Dakota and the majority leader, said Thursday.
One way to do so would be to add limits to the $72 billion immigration enforcement bill Republicans are planning to ram through the Senate along party lines beginning as early as Thursday. G.O.P. lawmakers had yet to release the text of that measure and were looking at how they could use it to weigh in on the issue.
Even if they opted not to, Democrats have promised to force a vote on the matter during debate on the legislation, and Republican leaders are worried that it might succeed unless they find a way to address the issue.
Todd Blanche, the acting attorney general, was at the Capitol on Thursday meeting with Senate Republicans to defend the fund. In a closed-door gathering, he circulated a one-page description of the fund, which asserted that there was “no partisan restriction; Democrats can submit claims, too,” and said that senators “whose records were secretly subpoenaed” could apply for compensation.
Ms. Collins, who said she opposed the fund in part over concerns that it would provide money for people who attacked police officers during the Jan. 6, 2021, assault on the Capitol, said as she exited the meeting with Mr. Blanche that he had not changed her mind.
Later, she cast doubt on whether the plan could survive.
“It is in real trouble — and it should be,” Ms. Collins said in an interview.
In perhaps a sign that difficulties remained, Mr. Blanche’s meeting with senators lasted more than an hour. Senator John Kennedy of Louisiana, one of the chattier Republicans in the chamber, declined to answer questions from reporters about it as he briefly stepped out.
Asked if the fund should be eliminated, Mr. Thune said as he left the meeting: “I don’t have anything for you.”
Carl Hulse and Megan Mineiro contributed reporting.
Michael Gold covers Congress for The Times, with a focus on immigration policy and congressional oversight.
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