WASHINGTON—Dementia Don’s legislative agenda collapsed on multiple fronts Tuesday as congressional Republicans took the unprecedented step of voting against it, citing concerns over cost, legality, and the sudden realization that they were allowed to do so.
The Senate voted 50 to 47 to discharge a war powers resolution blocking further military operations in Iran. The measure now advances to the House, where Democratic leaders say they have secured enough Republican support to pass it there as well. A similar rebellion surfaced in the House Budget Committee, which voted to eliminate a $1.8 billion Presidential Settlement Discretionary Fund. The account carried no legal precedent, no accountability mechanism, and no stated purpose beyond allowing the former president and his allies to pay whomever they wished.
“I’m not sure when we all forgot that consent of the governed includes the power of the purse,” said Rep. Mark Amodei of Nevada, a Republican who had previously voted for every single White House request. “This isn’t personal. It’s just the kind of scrutiny we should’ve applied to, well, everything.”
The most theatrical reversal came over a golden ballroom, a $1 billion line item stripped from a reconciliation package earlier in the day. Senator John Cassidy of Louisiana explained the decision in the measured tones of a man discovering basic arithmetic. “There’s no architectural plans. There’s no environmentals. There’s no engineering,” Cassidy said. “It could cost a lot less. It could cost a lot more. I just don’t get it.”
Democrats, who had argued all along that the agenda was fiscally reckless and legally dubious, appeared temporarily speechless. Senator Jim Heims, a leading voice on military affairs, said the war powers resolution would “send a clear message that Americans are sick of paying for chaos with no exit plan.” He then paused, apparently waiting for a rebuttal that never came.
Inside the White House, aides described the former president as frustrated and confused, noting that he had never been told the legislature could simply ignore him. A spokesman did not respond to requests for comment, but an internal memo later leaked suggesting the administration explore funding the ballroom through a commemorative coin sales program.
