Welcome to the beat, everyone. I'm Ari Melbourne. We begin with some real developments in Congress

that show there are still limits and rules that facts and exposure matter. The Thug Fund we've been

reporting on is not only likely unconstitutional and illegal, it is not only the most anti-police,

soft-on-crime initiative we've ever seen come out of any modern DOJ under Trump's tutelage.

It also now,

partly for those reasons, is causing a giant rift among Republicans, one that they can't hide and that spilled into public view late today. The DOJ, I should say, has, of course, failed to find

any rational way to defend or explain the fund, which means even Republicans

who go along with so much of what Donald Trump wants are balking today. They could not get

lawmakers on board with the thug fund, which would go to thugs and other people convicted of

crimes, potentially January 6 violent offenders.

The acting AG for Trump didn't rule that out.

And Blanche today tried to hold a meeting that was described as very contentious.

This was just with Republicans.

So you've got Trump Republicans and Trump's Republican acting AG, and yet he couldn't find

a good audience there, reportedly struggling to address

their concerns. One source saying he just wasn't persuasive to the room, and that meant something

real then happened. Senators abandoned any plans to go forward with something that was supposed

to help Trump today, an immigration vote. The Times reports how

just that delay shows the toxic dynamic between the White House and the Republican Congress,

as they head into the midterms. This is the first step in what could be a road to another

public embarrassment or rejection for Donald Trump. Politically, that would be bad

for Trump, just like when Republicans found that they were going to overthrow and revolt against

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