The Trump administration has officially abandoned plans for a $1.8 billion "anti-weaponization" fund, a controversial proposal that sparked bipartisan criticism and internal Republican resistance. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche confirmed the decision on Tuesday, stating the administration would not move forward with the fund, which was part of a settlement between the Trump family and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).
The fund, announced last month, aimed to compensate individuals the administration believed were unjustly targeted by the Biden administration. It also included a provision banning current tax audits of Trump and his family, a move criticized by both Republicans and Democrats as corrupt. The proposal faced intense backlash from Republicans in Congress, who threatened to derail a critical immigration bill if the administration did not drop the plan. Some lawmakers expressed concern that the fund could be used to pay individuals involved in the January 6, 2021, Capitol riot.
The fund's deletion came after a top Justice Department official, Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward, briefly endorsed an alternative compensation pathway via the Federal Tort Claims Act in a since-deleted social media post. Woodward's comment appeared to endorse a suggestion from Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) but was removed the following day without explanation. The administration had previously insisted the fund was necessary to "make whole" Americans wrongly prosecuted in the past, though officials refused to rule out payments to January 6 defendants.
The decision to abandon the fund follows a broader political context in which Trump is grappling with low approval ratings, high gas prices, and an unpopular war in Iran. Republicans viewed the fund as an unforced error that could hurt the party in the midterm elections. A former Trump adviser described it as a "total self-inflicted wound" and criticized the president's approach as myopic.
The provision shielding Trump and his family from tax audits will remain in place, further angering Republicans who had demanded its removal. The administration's reversal comes after a federal judge temporarily blocked the fund's creation, adding legal pressure to the political backlash.