Anti-weaponization fund is not moving forward ‘period,’ Blanche says

WASHINGTON —

The Trump administration is pulling the plug on its “anti-weaponization fund,” a rare reversal following bipartisan backlash from Congress.

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche made the announcement while answering questions from lawmakers on Capitol Hill on Tuesday.

“We are not moving forward with the fund, period,” Blanche said during a House hearing on the Justice Department’s budget.

“Not moving forward, ever?” asked Rep. Grace Meng, a Democrat from New York.

“Correct,” Blanche replied.

It was the first public confirmation that the fund would be permanently shut down after various media outlets reported on Monday that the Trump administration planned to drop it. The White House declined to confirm those reports earlier Tuesday and once again pointed to Monday’s statement from the DOJ, saying the department would abide by a court order temporarily pausing the fund.

The $1.8 billion pot of taxpayer dollars was created to resolve President Donald Trump’s lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) for the leak of his tax returns. The stated goal was to compensate Americans, claiming that they were unfairly targeted by the government, potentially including Trump supporters who stormed the U.S. Capitol on January 6th.

“The reasons for the fund, I think, remain as important as they were before, but we are not moving forward with the fund,” Blanche said.

The fund was met with widespread criticism on Capitol Hill. The dispute stalled a Republican bill to fund immigration enforcement agencies for the rest of the president’s term, as GOP senators sought assurances that the administration would agree to limit or completely shut down the anti-weaponization fund.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune expressed hope earlier Tuesday that Blanche’s testimony would get that process back on track.

“I think his statements are going to be very definitive, very clear, and create the certainty that I hope all of our members and House members need as well in order for us to proceed on the reconciliation bill,” Thune said, “But I’m not guaranteeing that happens yet. We’re still continuing to have conversations with our members.”

If Republicans move forward this week, Democrats say they will propose amendments that would ban what they have described as a “slush fund” for the president’s allies.

“His promises are worthless. The only way to end this scheme is to abolish it by law,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said.

Thune didn’t say whether Republicans would support efforts to explicitly ban the fund.

Schumer said Democrats also plan to target another portion of the IRS settlement, which bars the government from probing past tax filings from the president, his family, and his businesses.

Blanche said the Justice Department was not abandoning that portion of the settlement. He described it as customary and rejected the notion that it offered blanket immunity for tax audits.

The settlement applies to pending probes, not future ones, but experts say it’s extraordinarily broad.

“The stunning attempt to end audits of the President and his affiliates while there are reportedly ongoing tax disputes about how much he owes the government was always likely to be the most lucrative aspect of the deal for the President personally,” Tax Law Center Policy Director Brandon DeBot said in a statement.