Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche has issued a formal order terminating President Donald Trump’s $1.8 billion “Anti-Weaponization Fund.” The decision comes after a weeks-long standoff with Republican Sens. Thom Tillis and John Cornyn, who were threatening to block Blanche’s confirmation to be Attorney General permanently.
However, Trump says he could put it “back on the table” if Blanche isn’t confirmed.
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Blanche announced Sunday night, just two days before the Senate Judiciary Committee is set to vote on his nomination, that he and the Senate had reached a deal and he was “officially” rescinding the controversial Anti-Weaponization Fund. A spokesperson for Cornyn confirmed late Sunday night that he had come to an agreement with the Justice Department.
In a statement issued Monday morning, Tillis and Cornyn announced that they would vote to advance Blanche’s nomination following his order.
“We are pleased that the Department of Justice has issued a formal order terminating the anti-weaponization fund. Additionally, the Department has acknowledged in a binding written order that the audit settlement is limited to the plaintiffs and the scope does not extend beyond the defendants in the lawsuit, the IRS and the Treasury, addressing concerns that multiple of our Republican colleagues share,” Tillis shared in a statement shared to Facebook. “We want to express our gratitude to Mr. Blanche and his staff for working with us on this, and we look forward to voting to advance his nomination out of the Senate Judiciary Committee soon.”
The fund was part of a settlement resolving Trump’s lawsuit against the IRS and Treasury Department. It would have paid people who claimed they were politically targeted by the federal government during the Biden administration.
Blanche also revised another part of the settlement, making clear that its protections apply only to IRS matters that were already open when the agreement was signed and do not shield Trump or his family from future tax returns or audits.
Trump defends fund
Just hours before Blanche’s announcement, Trump defended the controversial fund. He also said if the Senate doesn’t confirm Blanche, he will put the idea “back on the table.”
“A lot of people like it. … If they don’t approve Todd, I put it back on the table,” he told reporters on Air Force One.
Trump said the fund “would be a reimbursement for the pain” that those who would be eligible for the fund “suffered.”
“But I will say there are a lot of people that like — People were hurt so badly,” Trump said. “Twenty-two suicides. They were destroyed. Their families were destroyed for doing things that, honestly, there’s never been an attack on any group of people in this country, in my opinion. Maybe one. There’s one group that was attacked violently and viciously, like these people were attacked. And this would be a reimbursement for the pain that they suffered. A lot of people like it.”
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