Justice Dept. drops $1.8bn Trump ‘weaponization’ fund

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche told a House committee that the administration is abandoning plans to create a roughly $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization” fund. Blanche said the Justice Department “is not moving forward with the fund, period,” confirming that the Biden-era settlement provision will not be implemented.

The proposed fund, reported at about $1.8 billion and in some accounts as $1.776 billion, was designed to compensate people who said they had been unfairly “weaponized” or targeted by government enforcement actions. It formed part of a broader settlement package negotiated under the previous administration.

The Justice Department said it will comply with a federal judge’s temporary order that bars the government from taking steps to activate the fund. The order remains in place at least until a hearing scheduled for June 12, effectively pausing any movement on the compensation program.

Blanche indicated that the decision to abandon the fund will stand even after the temporary block expires. The administration’s stance means that, regardless of the outcome of the June 12 hearing, the Justice Department does not plan to proceed with establishing or disbursing the fund.

Although the administration is scrapping the payout fund, officials say another part of the same settlement will remain in force. That provision prohibits the Internal Revenue Service from auditing Donald Trump, his family, and related entities.

Media reports describe the fund and the anti-audit clause as elements of a settlement tied to litigation over leaked tax returns. While the compensation mechanism is being dropped, the protective audit language for Trump and his associates is being preserved.

News outlets report that President Trump had been leaning for days toward scrapping the compensation program before the Justice Department’s announcement. According to two people familiar with the matter cited by The New York Times, this deliberation preceded the public confirmation that the fund would be abandoned.

The administration’s retreat followed a federal court’s intervention and significant political opposition from members of both parties. Ongoing litigation, the judge’s temporary halt, and bipartisan backlash contributed to the decision to formally drop plans for the $1.8 billion fund while leaving the settlement’s anti-audit protection intact.