'Smells bad': CNBC's Joe Kernen confronts Republican congressman over Trump's $1.8B fund

NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK: Amid growing attacks and counterattacks over the controversial $1.8 billion anti-weaponization fund, CNBC anchor Joe Kernen challenged Republicans as he questioned the legitimacy of the fund.

Kernen's comment came during an interview with House Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-MN) on Friday, May 22.

Joe Kernen questions Trump's IRS settlement optics

Joe Kernen, during the interview, argued that the huge settlement between Trump and his own administration’s Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to end his $10 billion lawsuit against the IRS “smells bad.”

Kernen speculated whether Trump’s controversial $1.8 billion anti-weaponization fund could become the issue that finally makes some Republicans say “enough.”

The host asked, “The slush fund, or whatever you want to call it, the move to go back on the audits and permanently put those to bed, is that a bridge too far for some Republicans that might have been uncomfortable with other things? Is that-, are we finally hitting a point where some people are saying enough, or…”

Kernen raised the Democratic argument that Republicans rarely challenge Trump on anything, and asked about the $1.8 billion fund.

Majority Whip Tom Emmer appeared to be reframing the debate around partisan fighting over immigration and law enforcement funding, and shifting focus away from the criticism of the fund.

"Let’s first put it in context," Emmer replied. "This is a Senate that tells us regularly they don’t have the votes. They don’t have the votes for the SAVE America Act that more than 70% of Americans agree with."

"You’re bringing up something that was added, as I understand it, to the funding bill — we call it the funding bill because we had to do it with 50-plus-one because Democrats apparently hate our law enforcement and weren’t willing to fund CBP and ICE. Now they’ve added this fund,” he continued.

He added, “I would like to hear from Todd Blanche. I understand that they [Senate Republicans] started to hear from him yesterday as to exactly what this is. Great! Let’s find out what it is before everybody crucifies it. I think people over there look for excuses every day to say no instead of enacting the agenda of 77 million people.”

Tom Emmer defends Trump against lawfare claims

As the conversation progressed, Kernen acknowledged that after two impeachment bids, there was a bit of a boy-who-cried-wolf effect to criticism of Trump.

He added, “Maybe having your own personal lawyer at this point become AG, the AG is the only person that could have gotten rid of these audits, right? And it was his personal lawyer! It just looks… It just looks-, smells bad! But I have said the president is so upset with the way he’s been treated in terms of lawfare that if he can do something, he does it because he can at this point.”

“Joe, I think it’s unfair to say it’s just the president who’s upset. Americans are upset,” Emmer shot back.

“They don’t want to see their government be used against anyone, Donald Trump or anybody else. And by the way, it was so egregious what they did to Donald Trump and his family. It’s one of the reasons that he’s back in the office,” Emmer added.

“We’re going to find out what it is,” asserted Emmer after Kernen went on to call the $1.776 billion pool of cash a “retribution fund.”