Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) lambasted outgoing Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA) for trying to insert a poison pill in the border security bill on the Senate floor on Friday. Sen. Cassidy’s proposed amendment, co-sponsored by Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), would redirect the Department of Justice “anti-weaponization fund” to law enforcement who defended the Capitol on January 6.

SEN. BILL CASSIDY (R-LA): Even though Attorney General Blanche says that the anti-weaponization fund will not be used, it is still part of an active settlement and absolutely can be used. But the fund is not needed for someone wronged by the federal government. The Federal Torts Claim Act allows any citizen wrongly targeted by the government to file a claim. The one group that cannot are police officers attacked in this Capitol on January 6th. The police officers who are protecting the public, the senators, and the representatives. This does not threaten the bill’s privileged status, but it does help police officers injured while protecting us. I urge a yes vote. Senator from Kentucky. SEN. MARK WARNER (D-VA), PRESIDING OFFICER: Senator from Kentucky. SEN. RAND PAUL (R-KY): What we’ve got here is a failure to understand what’s going on. We’ve been at it for 18 hours. There is no weaponization fund in this bill. Let me repeat, there is no weaponization fund in this bill. Ironically, the author of this amendment is the one creating a weaponization fund and directing it to pay his chosen group of people. This amendment is nothing more than a poison pill that would prevent us from doing what is at hand, and that is securing our border, enforcing our immigration laws. Democrats and some others refuse to vote for one dollar for the border. Republicans have stepped up to do the job. Democrats refuse to do. We cannot let them hijack this bill at the last moment with an unrelated issue. WARNER: Senator from Louisiana. CASSIDY: Mr. President, this is germane to the bill. It’s in the judiciary section. And by the way, it does not detract from our ability. And there is a fund out there that could be funded to use as an anti-weaponization fund. We should make the same ability, the same access to redress to the officers who protected us. I urge passage. WARNER: Senator from Kentucky. PAUL: This amendment would kill the bill. The budgetary effects of the pending amendment are merely incidental to the non-budgetary components of the amendment. Therefore, I raise a point of order under Section 313B-1D of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974.

Democrats spent years sabotaging every serious attempt to secure our border. They filibustered. They stalled. They held critical DHS funding hostage just to score political points while millions crossed illegally. I refused to let that continue. I took the bill to my committee,…

– Rand Paul (@RandPaul) June 5, 2026

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