The Trump administration is expected to abandon the Department of Justice’s proposed $1.8 billion Anti-Weaponization Fund following legal challenges and mounting political opposition, according to multiple reports.
The fund was created as part of a settlement in President Donald Trump’s $10 billion lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service. It was designed to compensate people who the administration said were victims of prosecutorial overreach by the Department of Justice during the Biden administration.
Reports that the fund was being shelved emerged after House Speaker Mike Johnson met with Trump at the White House to discuss the issue.
“I do think the best way to handle it is if the administration decides to shut it down themselves,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune told reporters on Monday.
Axios reported that a senior administration official described the fund as “dead for now.” Punchbowl separately reported that the administration was expected to comply with a court order and not move forward with the fund. MSNBC later confirmed Axios’ reporting.
Judge Blocks Fund as Legal Challenges Continue
The development follows a ruling Friday by US District Judge Leonie Brinkema, who temporarily blocked the DOJ from creating or distributing money from the fund while litigation continues in federal court in Alexandria, Virginia.
Brinkema has scheduled a June 12 hearing to determine whether the injunction should remain in place. Her case is one of three federal lawsuits seeking to stop the fund.
In a statement posted on X, the Department of Justice said it strongly disagreed with the court’s decision.
“The Department of Justice disagrees strongly with the decision on the Anti-Weaponization Fund,” the DOJ said, arguing that the fund was established “to make up for the tremendous abuse, harm, and hate unfairly shown to so many people.”
The department added that the fund “was open to anybody who was so weaponized, targeted, or persecuted, whether they were Democrat, Republican, Conservative, Independent, or otherwise.”
Despite its objections, the DOJ stated: “The Department will abide by the Court’s ruling.”