DOJ will – Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche told Congress on June 2 that the Justice Department will not move forward with President Donald Trump’s anti-weaponization fund, even as the effort remains tangled in court challenges and a temporary pause ordered before a
Todd Blanche didn’t leave room for interpretation.
At a congressional hearing on June 2. the acting attorney general told lawmakers the Justice Department is not moving forward with President Donald Trump’s “anti-weaponization fund. ” an IRS-backed effort that had been projected at $1.8 billion and could have paid people convicted of assaulting police during the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol.
Blanche’s message landed after months of political blowback and a legal thicket around the fund. whose size has been described as $1.776 billion tied to a settlement involving the IRS. The fight has also kept Congress and the White House locked in a public standoff. with Senate Republicans refusing to move forward on an immigration enforcement spending bill until the fund was limited or scrapped.
Earlier. on June 1. the Justice Department issued a statement saying it would abide by a court ruling that temporarily paused the fund ahead of a June 12 hearing. But the department did not answer follow-up questions before Blanche testified about whether the pause was temporary or if the government was abandoning the broader $1.776 billion effort.
“We are not moving forward with the fund, period,” Blanche said.
The language was pointed enough to draw an immediate push from lawmakers who wanted something firmer than the earlier status statement.
Rep. Grace Meng, D–New York, pressed Blanche directly, saying she hoped to see a written statement from the Justice Department confirming it would not proceed with the fund even after the June 12 hearing.
“I mean, I think there’ll be a transcript of what I say here, so that will be in writing,” Blanche responded.
Even as Blanche closed the door on moving forward, he left litigation on the table.
The acting AG said the department would still pursue its legal position in court challenges brought against the fund.
“Notwithstanding what we do in those litigations, and defending our rights, or making sure our rights are protected, we’re not moving forward with the fund,” he said.
For lawmakers. the stakes have been tied to both timing and credibility: a temporary court-ordered pause followed by a later decision about whether the government would continue the underlying plan. Blanche’s testimony changes the posture in real time. just as Senate Republicans have made clear the fund’s fate is intertwined with broader legislative leverage—particularly the immigration enforcement spending bill that Republicans said they would not advance without limits or a scrapping of the fund.
The sequence of events has left the administration with a narrow message: no further steps toward funding under the anti-weaponization plan, while still contesting the fund’s legal challenges in court as proceedings head toward the June 12 hearing.
DOJ Todd Blanche anti-weaponization fund Trump IRS settlement Jan. 6 2021 assaulting police U.S. Capitol immigration enforcement spending bill Senate Republicans June 12 hearing court ruling Todd Blanche testimony