Trump Aides Reportedly Discussing Whether to Kill ‘Anti-Weaponization’ Fund

AP Photo/Matt Rourke

Top advisers to President Donald Trump have discussed nixing the $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization” fund, The Wall Street Journal reported on Friday evening.

Citing sources familiar with the situation, the Journal reported, “More than a dozen Republican senators have privately urged top Trump aides to drop the fund since its creation last week.” Among them was Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC).

The Department of Justice established the fund this month in exchange for Trump dropping his lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service. In January, the president sued his own administration for $10 billion, stemming from a leak of his tax returns during his first term. His sons Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump, who run the Trump Organization, also sued. Based on the leaks, the Times reported in 2020 that the billionaire president paid just $750 in income tax in 2016 and in 2017.

The unprecedented $1.776 billion fund would make payouts to those who demonstrate to a DOJ commission that they were victims of weaponization. Critics have noted that any number of people who participated in the Jan. 6 Capitol riot could qualify. Upon taking office a second time in January 2025, Trump pardoned virtually every Jan. 6 defendant.

“Administration officials have grown increasingly concerned about the viability of the fund, people familiar with the matter said, which had been expected to provide payouts to an array of Trump allies,” the Journal stated. “Trump hasn’t agreed to drop the fund, but has told allies that he understands he has political problems with Senate Republicans, the people said.”

White House aides have suggested Trump kill the fund in exchange for immigration enforcement funding from Congress.

On Friday, a federal judge blocked the fund in a ruling the administration may appeal.

The fund has become a flashpoint on Capitol Hill. Last week, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) revealed that during a closed-door meeting, Republican senators yelled at acting Attorney General Todd Blanche.

“I gotta tell you, the Republican senators were pissed,” he said. “People were, the entire meeting, were screaming at the acting attorney general.”

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