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Fund’s status in doubt
President Donald Trump told CNN’s Kaitlan Collins he doesn’t know whether a $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization” fund is dead, calling it “a beautiful thing” during remarks on Wednesday.
“The end of Trump's 'anti-weaponisation' fund is another sign Republicans are fighting back President Donald Trump's plan to hand out $1”
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche had told lawmakers on Tuesday that it’s “not moving forward with the fund, period,” but Trump said, “I’d have to ask the lawyers, I don’t know,” when pressed on whether the initiative is fully scrapped or merely on hold.
The dispute is unfolding as Senate GOP leaders push to pass $70 billion in new immigration enforcement funding, with votes expected to begin early Thursday morning and last all day and into the evening.
The Senate already voted along party lines, 53 to 46, to advance a first step on ICE and border patrol funds aimed at getting to Trump’s desk this week.
Trump also framed the fund’s fate around a court ruling, saying only that “a court ruled against it” in a podcast interview with the New York Post that was taped Tuesday and released Wednesday.
Blanche’s scrapping, Trump’s pushback
The Guardian reported that acting attorney general Todd Blanche told a House appropriations committee hearing on Tuesday, “We are not moving forward with the fund, period,” while also saying the government would maintain an agreement that prohibits the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) from auditing Trump, his family and related entities.
Even as Blanche said the fund is scrapped, Trump told reporters in the Oval Office that he was still uncertain, saying “I’d have to ask the lawyers” and calling the weaponization fund “a beautiful thing.”
The Hill said Democrats and Republicans both criticized the arrangement as a slush fund, with some Republicans joining Democrats in describing it as a way to provide money to people who committed violent acts against police on Jan. 6, 2021.
In the same reporting, House Speaker Mike Johnson said he told Trump the fund made it difficult for Republicans to get legislation through Congress, saying, “I told him that it was a difficult prospect right now, given our vote tallies,”
The Hill also reported that Trump railed against the federal judge in Virginia who temporarily halted the fund from making any payouts, saying, “A radical left judge ruled against it, and we’ll see how that all works out,”.
Congressional stakes and next moves
As the Senate prepares a marathon voting session on immigration enforcement funding, the BBC said the end of Trump’s “anti-weaponisation” fund lasted all of two weeks before DOJ abandoned the idea amid backlash from Republicans in Congress.
“President Donald Trump declined to commit to permanently scrapping a $1”
The BBC also quoted Senate Majority Leader John Thune urging the administration to end its plans for the fund, saying, “The best way to handle it is if the administration decides to shut it down themselves,”
Reuters reported that Senate GOP leaders were powering ahead with plans to pass $70 billion in new immigration enforcement funding despite sharp disagreements over how to handle the controversial settlement fund.
The Hill said the fund has been contentious in Congress among both parties, and it cited House Speaker Mike Johnson’s warning that the fund made it difficult for Republicans to get legislation through Congress.
In parallel, the Guardian said individual victims may still be able to seek compensation by filing administrative claims for damages against the government, while noting that January 6 and other defendants could still conceivably receive compensation.
