Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said Tuesday that the Justice Department is not moving forward with its $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization” fund.
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“We’re not moving forward with the fund, period,” Blanche said during a House Appropriations subcommittee hearing, vowing that would remain true even after a federal court’s order to pause the fund expires.
The DOJ announced on Monday that it would comply with a recent court ruling temporarily blocking the $1.8 billion fund, which has faced widespread backlash from both sides of the aisle.
The fund stemmed from a settlement announced last month between the IRS and President Donald Trump, along with two of his sons, Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump, and the Trump Organization.
Trump agreed to drop a $10 billion suit against the IRS over his leaked tax returns in exchange for creating a nearly $1.8 billion fund to provide payments to people who say they were unfairly targeted by the government. Since then, a slew of people — including some pardoned Jan. 6 defendants and ex-Trump lawyer Michael Cohen — have said they intended to file a claim.
The fund prompted criticism from both sides of the aisle, including from allies of the president, and undermined Senate Republicans’ efforts to fund ICE and Customs and Border Protection.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said Monday that Democrats would force Republicans to vote on the fund as they attempt to use budget reconciliation to advance their spending priorities.
Before Blanche’s testimony on Tuesday, Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., told reporters that he expected the acting attorney general to say the fund was “off the table,” clearing the path for the reconciliation process that would fund ICE and CBP.
The settlement has also come under scrutiny over a provision that permanently bars the IRS from auditing Trump, his family or his business.
Rep. Rosa DeLaura, D-Conn., asked Blanche if that section of the settlement would still stand.
Blanche said that the only part of the settlement that the Justice Department would not enforce was the creation of the fund, and that the rest of the settlement between Trump and the IRS still stood.