The Justice Department abandoned its plan for a $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization fund” meant to compensate Donald Trump’s allies, Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche announced Tuesday. The controversial fund faced fierce legal challenges and public backlash since its proposal last month.
“We are not moving forward with the fund, period.”
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, House Appropriations Committee hearing, June 2, 2026
Blanche testified before the House Appropriations Committee that while the fund is dead, the Justice Department will maintain Trump’s immunity from IRS audits. The agreement prohibits the Internal Revenue Service from auditing Trump, his family members, and related business entities indefinitely.
The scrapped fund would have compensated individuals who claimed the federal government was “weaponized” against them during previous administrations. MAGA supporters championed the proposal as restitution for alleged political persecution, but legal experts called it unprecedented government overreach.
What you can do now
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Contact the House Judiciary Committee and demand oversight hearings on DOJ’s decision-making process. Call the committee at (202) 225-3951 and ask why Trump retains audit immunity while the fund was scrapped.
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Call your senators at (202) 224-3121 and urge them to investigate the IRS audit prohibition. No president should be above tax law enforcement, and this agreement sets dangerous precedent for future administrations.
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Submit a FOIA request to the DOJ for documents related to the fund’s creation and cancellation. Use MuckRock.com to file your request and demand transparency about who proposed the fund and why it was abandoned.
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Contact your state attorney general and ask them to investigate whether the scrapped fund violated state laws. Find your AG at naag.org and urge them to join any multi-state legal challenges to Trump’s ongoing audit immunity.
Update, June 2, 2026: Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche told the House Appropriations Committee that the Justice Department will not move forward with the $1.8 billion Anti-Weaponization Fund. Rep. Grace Meng, D-N.Y., pressed Blanche on whether the department intended to reinstate the fund after a federal judge temporarily blocked it pending additional legal arguments.
The fund was created as part of a settlement with President Donald Trump to resolve a lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service over the leaking of his tax returns. Senate Republicans had stalled immigration enforcement funding over the issue, and critics argued the fund could be used to compensate people who attacked the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021.
Blanche said the department would not revive the fund regardless of how future court proceedings resolve. The Justice Department had said on June 1 that it disagreed with the judge’s ruling but would comply with it.
The fund was created as part of a settlement with President Trump to resolve a lawsuit over the IRS leaking his tax returns. Blanche’s testimony was reported by PBS News and NPR.
Update, July 14, 2026: Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche is scheduled to appear before the Senate for a confirmation hearing, and the ACLU released a detailed review of his record on July 14, 2026, citing his authority over criminal investigations targeting Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, and Senators Mark Kelly, Adam Schiff, and Elissa Slotkin. DOJ under Blanche also charged the Southern Poverty Law Center for conducting investigations into extremist groups. The ACLU states that none of the politically targeted matters involved actual crimes.
On election access, DOJ has filed lawsuits across more than 30 jurisdictions to compel the release of sensitive voter registration data — including partial Social Security numbers — and has lost those cases consistently in federal court. In January 2026, the FBI executed a search warrant on Fulton County, Georgia, seizing 2020 election materials, and is now directing more than 200 staffers to that investigation. A federal judge blocked a separate DOJ bid to obtain private information on thousands of Fulton County poll workers.
The ACLU is litigating a criminal contempt inquiry tied to Blanche’s role in the removal of more than 130 men to El Salvador in defiance of a federal restraining order. DOJ has also sent letters threatening criminal prosecution to election officials in all 50 states and Washington, D.C. over routine administrative duties. The ACLU is urging senators to press Blanche directly on each of these actions at his hearing.
Sources
NPR: DOJ Won’t Move Ahead with Anti-Weaponization Fund, Blanche Says
The Guardian: Trump’s $1.8B Anti-Weaponization Fund Scrapped, Blanche Confirms
The Guardian Live: Trump Administration Abandons Controversial Compensation Fund