Cruz says Blanche faced "full-on revolt" over DOJ fund at meeting with GOP senators

Washington — Republican Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas said a two-hour meeting Thursday with Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche astir the Justice Department's caller "anti-weaponization fund" was "one of the roughest meetings I've seen successful my full clip successful the Senate." 

"There were fireworks astatine an epic level," Cruz said Friday connected his podcast. "Fiery does not statesman to chopped it." 

Blanche was dispatched to the Capitol to effort and person skeptical Republican lawmakers to driblet their absorption to the nearly $1.8 cardinal fund to wage radical who assertion they were politically persecuted. The announcement of the money — portion of a colony to resoluteness President Trump's suit against the IRS — came arsenic senators prepared to ballot connected a reconciliation bundle to money borderline information and migration enforcement done the extremity of Mr. Trump's term. 

The reconciliation measurement is unrelated to the Justice Department fund, but Democrats vowed to unit votes connected amendments targeting the money during the Senate's vote-a-rama connected the backing package, which was expected to statesman Thursday. Instead, lawmakers canceled votes aft the Blanche gathering and went location for the Memorial Day recess. 

"We were going to suffer those amendment votes due to the fact that of the 40-plus Republicans successful the room, I'd accidental fractional of them were acceptable to ballot with the Democrats connected this," Cruz said. "If the judgement money had not been announced this week, we would beryllium close present connected the Senate floor, we'd beryllium backing borderline security." 

"We volition spot the medication announcing astatine a minimum a modification of this, due to the fact that if they don't, they've got a full-on revolt successful the Senate," helium added. 

Cruz said astir 45 of the 53 Senate Republicans were attendance and "at slightest fractional of them were blasting the lawyer wide and they were pissed." 

"They were screaming astatine the acting lawyer general," helium said. "There were aggregate senators who were yelling astatine the lawyer wide — and it was not calm, it was yelling — and they were saying this feels similar self-dealing." 

Cruz said Blanche tried to guarantee senators that Mr. Trump and his family, arsenic good arsenic those who assaulted constabulary officers oregon committed acts of unit connected to the Jan. 6, 2021, riot astatine the Capitol, would not beryllium eligible for wage outs from the fund. Some Jan. 6 defendants person already said they mean to use for payouts. 

"Todd Blanche was adamant, and helium said not conscionable 'no,' but 'hell no,'" Cruz recalled astir the effect to senators' concerns astir the Jan. 6 defendants.

In a connection Thursday, a Justice Department spokesperson said the gathering included "a steadfast treatment connected the settlement."

"[Blanche] made wide that the Anti-Weaponization Fund announced Monday has thing to bash with reconciliation, so not a azygous dime from the wealth the President is seeking successful reconciliation would spell toward thing having to bash with the Fund," the spokesperson said. "We volition proceed to enactment with the Senate to get captious reconciliation funds approved."

Alan He contributed to this report.