White House Scraps $1.8B "Anti-Weaponization" Fund
The Trump administration has completely abandoned its plans to establish a $1.8 billion (£1.3 billion) compensation fund intended for individuals who claim that they were unfairly targeted or prosecuted by the federal government.
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche delivered the blunt confirmation to lawmakers on Tuesday during a tense House Appropriations Committee hearing, following weeks of intense political blowback and significant legal hurdles.
"We're not moving forward with the fund, period," Blanche told the committee.
While the multi-billion-dollar fund is officially dead, Blanche confirmed that a separate, highly unusual part of the legal agreement will remain completely intact: the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is strictly prohibited from conducting any future audits into the past tax records of President Donald Trump, his family, and their related business entities.
What was the “anti-weaponization” fund?
The "anti-weaponization" fund originally emerged as a settlement to resolve a $10 billion lawsuit filed by Trump against the IRS over the historical leaking of his tax returns. Last month, the Justice Department announced the creation of the $1.776 billion fund, pitching it as a resource for "victims of lawfare" to seek damages for government overreach.
However, the loosely controlled fund immediately drew fierce, bipartisan condemnation. Critics from both parties aggressively pointed out that the eligibility requirements were so broad that the money could easily be funneled to people prosecuted over the January 6th, 2021, Capitol riot, including those who were convicted of violently assaulting law enforcement.
Blanche severely angered lawmakers last month when he explicitly refused to promise that Capitol rioters would be barred from receiving payouts.
Congress refuse to pass immigration funding unless “anti-weaponization” fund dismantled
The political pressure reached a boiling point this week as furious senators hit an absolute logjam with the White House over a crucial $72 billion budget reconciliation package to fund immigration enforcement agencies. Senate Majority Leader John Thune, the chamber's top Republican, made it clear that Congress would not pass the immigration funding unless the administration completely dismantled the unpopular fund.
Simultaneously, Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer vowed to introduce legislation to permanently block what he labeled "Trump's corrupt MAGA slush fund." Former Vice President Mike Pence also broke ranks over the weekend, publicly calling the plan a "bad idea from the start" that needed to be dropped.
Fund abandonment follows legal setbacks
The decision to scrap the fund follows major legal setbacks. Last week, US District Judge Leonie Brinkema issued a temporary restraining order blocking the DOJ from taking any steps to operate the fund or disperse money until a preliminary hearing on June 12th. The order came after two men filed a lawsuit in Virginia alleging that the fund was inherently discriminatory.
Furthermore, the federal judge in Florida who oversaw the initial IRS lawsuit took the extraordinarily rare step of reopening the case to investigate potential wrongdoing regarding how the settlement was handled.
While the $1.8 billion payout pool has been discarded, the DOJ's decision to maintain the audit immunity for the Trump family has drawn fierce criticism from financial experts. Former IRS Commissioner Daniel Werfel noted that he was unaware of any similar agreement ever being granted in history.
“Whether you are the president or Joe the Plumber, people expect the same tax rules and enforcement framework to apply to everybody,” Werfel said.
Legal experts have additionally warned that protecting the president from potential tax liabilities could directly violate the US Constitution’s emoluments clause, which strictly forbids a sitting president from receiving personal financial benefits from their office.
During Tuesday's hearing, Democratic Representative Grace Meng pressed Blanche to issue a formal, written statement detailing the cancellation of the program to help restore public trust. Blanche flatly refused to commit to putting anything in writing. Blanche responded sharply. "I don't know what the purpose is of putting something in writing. I'm telling you what we are doing."
Though the centralized fund has been destroyed, a loophole remains. Individual defendants, including those charged in the January 6th Capitol attacks, can still technically file independent administrative claims for damages directly against the government. Because the Justice Department retains immense discretion over how it settles individual cases, backdoor payouts are still a distinct possibility. Enrique Tarrio, the convicted former leader of the far-right Proud Boys, confirmed to reporters that this remains a viable path for defendants looking to secure government compensation.
