Republican forced out by Trump slaps back by siding with Dem in legal attack

One of the Republican senators driven out of office by President Donald Trump has signed on to a legal challenge fighting the administration's so-called anti-weaponization fund.

Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA), who lost a GOP primary to a challenger endorsed by the president, joined Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) in submitting an amicus brief in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia opposing the $1.776 billion fund established by the Treasury Department to pay off Trump allies who claim they were targeted for prosecution by previous administrations.

"The Anti-Weaponization Fund presents an immediate and dire threat to our constitutional order and the authority of Congress," the challenge states. "Indeed, among other purposes, the Fund is designed to compensate the insurrectionists who stormed the U.S. Capitol on January 6th. The existence of the Fund strikes at the core of Congressional authority and our Constitutional order."

The fund was established as part of a settlement of a $10 billion lawsuit filed by the president against the Internal Revenue Service for an unlawful 2019 leak of his tax returns by a government contractor who was later convicted and sentenced.

Senate Republicans voted Thursday morning to strike down an amendment sponsored by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) to prohibit DOJ from establishing the fund for MAGA allies,

Schumer's amendment failed 49-50, but three Republicans facing re-election in November – Sens. Susan Collins (R-ME) Jon Husted (R-OH)and Dan Sullivan (R-AK) – voted with Democrats in support of it.