The Trump administration is reportedly planning to drop its plans for a disputed $1.8 billion “Anti-Weaponization Fund” following a federal lawsuit seeking to block it, according to news outlets and advocacy groups.
The fund, established by the Department of Justice (DOJ) under Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, was designed to enable an attorney general-appointed commission to distribute approximately $1.78 billion in taxpayer funds. The money was intended for individuals and entities claiming they were improperly targeted by the federal government. Acting Attorney General Blanche had previously indicated that individuals convicted in connection with the January 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol could be eligible for payouts.
However, the policy faced immediate legal pushback. Public Citizen Litigation Group and co-counsel Kimberly Hutchison of Singleton Schreiber filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court in San Diego on behalf of plaintiff Allison Gill to halt the program. The complaint argues that the DOJ established the fund in violation of the Administrative Procedure Act by failing to publish a notice in the Federal Register or allow a public comment period.
Gill, a former Department of Veterans Affairs employee and founder of the Mueller, She Wrote podcast, alleges she experienced weaponization during Trump’s first term due to her podcast’s commentary, giving her a direct interest in the fund’s standards.
Following reports that the administration would abandon the initiative, Lisa Gilbert, co-president of Public Citizen, released a statement critical of the policy.
“The blatant corruption of a slush fund explicitly for insurrectionists and Trump cronies simply could not be ignored,” Gilbert said. “If the Trump administration drops the fund, as is now being reported, it is simply a nod to the realities of how appalling and toxic this fund truly was. As important as taking out this disgusting policy is, we must not let it be an excuse to greenlight the massive increases to ICE funding embedded in the reconciliation bill.”
Attorneys and plaintiffs involved in the case argued that the administration bypassed proper constitutional channels to set up the multi-billion-dollar program.
“Attorney General Blanche does not have the authority to create, by fiat, a $1.78 billion slush fund to reward Trump’s allies and supporters,” said Nandan Joshi, the lead Public Citizen attorney on the case. “The fund presents a host of constitutional, legal, and equitable questions that directly affect Ms. Gill’s interests. She and other members of the public have a right to have their voices heard. In addition to the host of other legal problems with the Fund, the government has denied them that opportunity.”
Gill also spoke out against the fund’s parameters, contrasting it with her personal professional experiences.
“The Trump administration’s attempted theft of $1.8B in taxpayer money to reward his criminal co-conspirators is an insult to those of us who faced actual weaponization at the hands of the president and his allies,” Gill said. “I will not stand idly by while the government deprives actual victims of lawfare of having our voices heard on the matter. This is not a legitimate fund; it’s pure theft and cannot go unanswered.”
The White House and the Department of Justice have not yet issued a formal statement confirming the official termination of the fund.
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