Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche rescinds $1.8 billion anti-weaponization fund

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche rescinds $1.8 billion anti-weaponization fund

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche issued a formal order Sunday evening, rescinding plans to establish a $1.8 billion fund intended to compensate allies of President Trump. The move follows weeks of negotiations with two Republican senators who had threatened to block Blanche's confirmation for the permanent leadership of the Justice Department.

The order, dated August 2, explicitly states that the May 18, 2026 Order that created the Anti-Weaponization Fund is rescinded and shall have no force or effect. The document further asserts that no members were appointed, no funds were transferred, no claims were paid, and no process for receiving claims was ever established.

Senators John Cornyn of Texas and Thom Tillis of North Carolina had refused to vote for Blanche's confirmation unless the administration provided a written guarantee that the fund—designed to pay individuals claiming political persecution—would be abandoned. This insistence came despite Blanche's previous testimony during a July 15, 2026 Senate Judiciary Committee hearing where he insisted the fund was dead and that no money had moved from the Treasury to any other account.

The fund originated from a May settlement resolving a $10 billion lawsuit filed by President Trump against the IRS and Treasury Department over leaked tax records. However, a federal judge in Florida voided that settlement in July, describing it as a fraud on the court. While Trump is appealing that ruling, the Justice Department had previously argued in June court filings that the fund was not proceeding and that related lawsuits should be rendered moot.

The Sunday order also narrows another component of the May 19 settlement regarding tax audit immunity for President Trump and his family. Blanche clarified that the immunity agreement applies only retroactively to claims open at the time of the settlement and does not protect the president from the examination of future tax filings.

These concessions come amid public friction between the president and the two GOP holdouts. On Saturday, President Trump posted on Truth Social that if Cornyn and Tillis did not approve Blanche, he would keep Blanche as Acting Attorney General and push hard to pass an Anti-Weaponization Bill to assist those treated badly by the previous administration. On Sunday evening, Trump argued that the fund would provide reimbursement for the pain of people whose lives were destroyed, including those charged in the January 6, 2021, Capitol attack.

Senator Tillis responded on X on Saturday, suggesting that the president intended to resurrect the payout pot for punks through either a new fund or congressional legislation that most Senate Republicans would oppose. Senator Cornyn, who lost his reelection bid this year, and Senator Tillis, who is retiring in January, had previously noted that while the Justice Department seemed open to an agreement, the White House had been unwilling to budge.

Blanche, a former defense lawyer for the president, has served as acting attorney general since April, following the firing of Pam Bondi. Since taking the role, he has accelerated investigations into the president's perceived enemies and pursued administration priorities.

Following the issuance of the order, Natalie Yezbick, a spokesperson for Senator Cornyn, confirmed that the senator has reached an agreement with the Department of Justice regarding the fund and the IRS settlement. Blanche stated on X that his team had met with senators over several weeks and addressed outstanding concerns through good faith discussions.

The Senate Judiciary Committee vote on Blanche's nomination, which was delayed last week due to the objections of Cornyn and Tillis, is now scheduled for Tuesday at 9 a.m.