Senate Republicans press Trump Justice Department on anti-weaponization fund

Senate Republicans were still pressing the Trump Justice Department to put firm limits on a $1.776 billion anti-weaponization fund, a dispute that has become a pressure point for the broader immigration fight on Capitol Hill. Senate Majority Leader John Thune said he had been assured that Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche would deliver a “very definitive, very clear” statement at a House hearing, a sign that Republicans wanted the administration to settle the matter before it swallowed other legislation.

The immediate flashpoint was a House Appropriations Committee hearing on Justice Department spending, where Blanche was expected to face questions about the fund. The money came out of a settlement tied to Donald Trump’s $10 billion lawsuit over leaks of his tax information, and the arrangement quickly drew bipartisan concern because it could pay people who claim they were victims of government “weaponization.” That concern only deepened after Blanche told senators that “anybody in this country is eligible to apply” if they believe they were targeted, regardless of party.

Blanche also would not rule out payments to Jan. 6, 2021 defendants who attacked police during the Capitol riot. That possibility landed with particular force in a country where the Justice Department has prosecuted nearly 1,500 Capitol riot cases, and where any suggestion of federal money flowing to convicted rioters has become politically toxic. Thune said he was “not a big fan” of the fund, while other Republicans had reportedly threatened to sink an immigration-enforcement bill unless the administration dropped it, making the Justice Department’s explanation a test of whether the issue was policy, or leverage.

The department later said it was “not moving forward with the fund,” but that did not fully quiet Republicans or outside critics. On May 19, the department issued an addendum that also barred IRS claims against Trump and related entities for past tax issues, intensifying criticism from ethics experts and former judges who saw the settlement as unusually protective of the president.

The legal fight moved ahead on June 2, when a federal judge temporarily blocked payouts while challenges proceed. Five days earlier, 35 former federal judges had asked a court to investigate whether the settlement amounted to a fraud on the court. For Republicans, the unanswered question is whether Blanche’s promised statement will close the door on the fund, or simply buy time while the administration tries to keep both its settlement and its immigration agenda alive.