Senate Republicans on Thursday defeated a Democratic amendment that would have permanently barred the Justice Department from establishing its proposed $1.776 billion Anti-Weaponization Fund, despite a handful of GOP senators from competitive states breaking ranks to support the measure. The amendment, sponsored by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), failed in a 49-50 vote after nearly three hours of procedural wrangling on the Senate floor. All Democrats voted in favor, while Sens. Susan Collins (R-ME), Dan Sullivan (R-AK), and Jon Husted (R-OH) joined them. It would have permanently prohibited any future administration from using the federal Judgment Fund to establish the Anti-Weaponization Fund.  The vote highlighted growing political tensions surrounding the fund, which Democrats have repeatedly characterized as a “MAGA slush fund” and which some Republicans have privately worried could become a liability in the months leading up to the midterm elections. The three GOP senators who voted with Democrats are all facing competitive re-election campaigns this November. Collins is expected to face one of the toughest races of her career in Maine, while Sullivan and Husted are also preparing for competitive contests in states Democrats hope to contest aggressively. Democrats argued that verbal assurances from the Trump administration that the fund was dead were insufficient. “It’s heinous and it won’t die until we permanently ban it by law,” Schumer said on the Senate floor ahead of the vote. The amendment came despite repeated statements from Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche that the Justice Department has abandoned plans to move forward with the fund. “We are not moving forward with the fund. Period,” Blanche told lawmakers during congressional testimony this week. The Anti-Weaponization Fund was initially proposed in May as a mechanism to compensate Americans who believe they were improperly targeted by government agencies. Supporters argued that victims of politically motivated prosecutions, including some January 6 defendants, pro-life activists, and others who believed they had been unfairly targeted by the federal government, should have an avenue for restitution. The proposal quickly drew backlash from both Democrats and several Senate Republicans, who expressed concerns about potential beneficiaries and the program’s projected cost. Thursday’s vote also exposed divisions within the Republican conference. Several senators who opposed Schumer’s amendment nonetheless pushed for alternative language that would codify Blanche’s pledge not to pursue the fund. Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA) reportedly threatened to support Schumer’s amendment unless Republican leadership allowed consideration of a separate proposal prohibiting the fund. Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) similarly argued that formally eliminating the proposal would spare vulnerable Republicans from having to defend it on the campaign trail. “Why not use this moment to codify that?” Tillis told reporters. “Otherwise, you’re exposing every one of our members who are in an election cycle to having to deal with this between today and Election Day.” Ultimately, however, most Republicans voted against Schumer’s amendment, helping preserve the underlying $70 billion reconciliation package, which focuses primarily on immigration enforcement and border security. The fight over the Anti-Weaponization Fund has become one of several politically charged issues Democrats hope to use to divide Republicans ahead of November. With control of both chambers of Congress at stake, Democrats have sought to force difficult votes on issues ranging from government spending and tariffs to immigration enforcement and Trump’s legal battles. For Republicans, the challenge is maintaining unity while defending a narrow Senate majority in what is expected to be a difficult midterm environment. Thursday’s vote demonstrated that while some vulnerable GOP incumbents are willing to distance themselves from controversial Trump administration proposals, Republican leadership remains determined to avoid handing Democrats procedural victories that could derail the party’s broader legislative agenda. And despite Democratic efforts to permanently kill the proposal, the amendment’s failure means Republicans avoided a headline-grabbing rebuke of the administration — even as the administration itself insists the fund is already dead.