Corruption

Trump Re-Ups the Anti-Weaponization Fund, Reinforcing the Demand That Todd Blanche Kill It for Good

The president is still pushing the idea of using taxpayer money to reward Capitol rioters, contradicting the attorney general nominee's assurance that it won't happen.

Jacob Sullum | 7.31.2026 4:55 PM

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(Aaron Schwartz/Pool via CNP/Picture Alliance/Consolidated News Photos)

Last month, Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said the Justice Department is "not moving forward with" the $1.8 billion "Anti-Weaponization Fund" described in President Donald Trump's May 18 "settlement agreement" with the IRS. "Period," Blanche added.

Sens. John Cornyn (R–Texas) and Thom Tillis (R–N.C.), whose objections to that agreement have delayed the Senate Judiciary Committee's vote on Blanche's nomination as attorney general, want him to put his assurance in writing, which he so far has refused to do. On Friday, Trump himself reinforced the motivation for that condition by saying his supporters "should be given compensation for what has been done to them."

The Anti-Weaponization Fund was the central feature of the original IRS "settlement," even though it had nothing to do with Trump's lawsuit against the agency, which alleged damages from an IRS contractor's illegal disclosure of his tax returns. The fund was designed to reward Trump's friends and followers by offering compensation to people who claim they suffered from politically motivated abuses of power during the Biden administration.

That idea provoked a bipartisan backlash so intense that Blanche, who approved the fund and repeatedly defended it, abandoned the scheme two weeks after announcing it. Republican senators, including Cornyn and Tillis, were especially dismayed by the prospect that the fund's beneficiaries would include Trump supporters who assaulted police officers during the 2021 riot at the........

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