Trump’s Anti-Weaponization Fund “Not Moving Forward”

A $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization fund,” set up as part of a settlement of Donald Trump‘s lawsuit against the IRS, appears to be dead, as lawmakers of both parties criticized the idea and the prospect of payouts to those who participated in the January 6 siege of the Capitol.

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche told lawmakers on Capitol Hill on Tuesday that “we’re not moving forward with the fund, period.”

“The reason for the fund, which is something Donald Trump talked about for a long time, which is that there are a lot of people in this country who have the government weaponized against them, the reasons remained as important as they were before, but we are not moving forward with the fund,” Blanche said.

The fund was announced last month as part of a settlement of Trump’s $10 billion lawsuit against the IRS over the leak of his tax returns. But the fund quickly became a political liability, as Vice President JD Vance and others would not commit that none of the dollars would not go to January 6th defendants who assaulted police officers. Democrats took to calling the fund Trump’s slush fund, as the administration would ultimately control the decision-making on disbursements.

Republicans saw the fund as an impediment to their efforts to pass a bill for immigration and border security. The Senate is trying to pass the bill that is using a legislative reconciliation process, allowing for a simple majority but also giving Democrats the chance to offer up amendments. They were likely to put GOP members on record in supporting or opposing the anti-weaponization fund.

Last week, a federal judge overseeing Trump’s lawsuit put a pause on its implementation at least until a June 12 court hearing.

Blanche defended the fund in a meeting with the GOP Senate caucus last month, but faced a backlash from members.