Tillis blasts DOJ anti-weaponization fund as payout pot for punks

Thom Tillis sharpened the Republican revolt over a Justice Department-created $1.776 billion anti-weaponization fund on Sunday, turning a policy dispute into a wider test of whether GOP lawmakers will confront Trump-aligned initiatives they see as politically toxic and institutionally reckless.

On CNN’s State of the Union, the retiring North Carolina Republican called the fund “stupid on stilts” and said, “I call it a payout pot for punks.” Tillis argued the money should go to victims, not people convicted by a jury or those who pleaded guilty to assaulting a police officer. The fund, announced in May 2026, was created as part of a settlement tied to Donald Trump’s $10 billion lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service over leaked tax returns. Critics say its structure could allow payments to January 6 defendants and other Trump allies.

Tillis had already telegraphed his break with the White House in a May 20 interview, saying he was ready to “nuke” the administration’s new anti-weaponization fund and warning that Trump’s advisers were giving the president bad information that could damage his legacy and the party’s prospects in November. The sharper language underscored how the dispute has moved beyond one senator’s insult and into a broader argument about Republican judgment, discipline and the political costs of defending a program many conservatives now see as indefensible.

Trump responded by attacking Tillis on social media as a “RINO,” a “nitpicker” and a “quitter.” But the backlash has spread well beyond the North Carolina senator. Mitch McConnell called the proposal “utterly stupid” and “morally wrong,” while Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania and Tom Suozzi of New York introduced bipartisan legislation to block federal money from being used for claims under the program. Fitzpatrick said the problem was that a statute was being used to bypass Congress’s normal power of the purse.

The institutional clash has already reached the Senate floor. Senate Republicans delayed action on a $72 billion immigration-enforcement spending bill as pressure mounted to kill or restrict the fund, and John Thune also blocked $1 billion for a White House ballroom project when he lacked the votes. The dispute now sits at the intersection of policy, procedure and partisan loyalty, with the possibility of spilling further into the November 2026 midterms.