Sen. Thom Tillis says he “vehemently” disagrees with the $1.8 billion compensation fund the Trump administration created for people he says were targeted with investigations for political reasons, arguing it could bankroll people who assaulted police officers
When Sen. Thom Tillis looks at the Trump administration’s new $1.8 billion compensation fund, he doesn’t see policy details. He sees a moral line being crossed.
The North Carolina Republican said the fund—created to compensate people the administration says were targeted with investigations or prosecution for political reasons—would “invariably” put taxpayers “in a position” to compensate people who. in his words. assaulted police officers. admitted their guilt. were convicted. and were later pardoned. He called it “stupid on stilts. ” and he framed his opposition as a matter of power: “When you take money from me to give to a purpose that I vehemently disagree with. that’s tyranny. and that’s what that account is.”.
Tillis’s remarks land amid a fast-moving legal and political fight over the administration’s settlement with the IRS. Last week, the Department of Justice announced it agreed to settle a lawsuit Trump, his sons, and the Trump Organization filed against the IRS for leaking their tax returns.
The compensation fund has become controversial on multiple fronts in Tillis’s telling: he objected to the idea that the fund would allow distribution of money without congressional approval; he highlighted the unusual posture of Trump. now serving as president while also being the plaintiff in the lawsuit and the head of the federal agencies that are the defendants; and he said the stakes are heightened by the fact that January 6 rioters who were pardoned by Trump are seeking a share of the funds—even those who assaulted law enforcement officers.
Tillis has grown increasingly blunt during Trump’s second term. His comments come after he announced he would not run for re-election to the Senate seat he has held since 2014. The senator has also criticized Republicans’ internal fights. including a Texas Senate primary runoff that he said helped fester when Trump endorsed Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton against incumbent Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX). Tillis had blasted Trump for backing off from a reported initial plan to endorse Cornyn. calling it a mistake and lamenting how Republicans allowed the internecine battle to continue “lazy and unstrategic.”.
On the compensation fund itself, Tillis’s central complaint is not just what the program is supposed to do, but who could benefit.
He sharply criticized Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche after Blanche refused to rule out paying January 6 rioters who assaulted police officers. calling his comments “objectionable.” Tillis also drew a direct comparison between what he says Republicans are doing now and what he says Democrats have promoted for years.
“What we’re doing as Republicans now, the Democrats have been for years, yelling ‘defund the police’ and disrupting the police,” he said. “Now we’re looking no different than them.”
The fight is personal for Tillis in another way: he suggested his view of Blanche could carry consequences inside the Senate.
Blanche took over the acting role after his predecessor. Pam Bondi. was ousted earlier this year amid the president’s frustrations about the handling of the Epstein files and disastrous performances at several congressional committee hearings. Tillis said he doesn’t believe those who are softening on violence against police officers will have his support if Trump officially nominates Blanche to hold the job permanently.
“I don’t get into hypotheticals. but I don’t think that people have to go too far to see that anybody who equivocates and supported the thugs that harmed police officers will never get my vote in committee or on the floor. ” Tillis told Jones. He added that he believes Blanche and anyone else with the power to advance such payments should understand the moment that produced it: “They better not have anything in their record suggesting that what happened on January 6 was anything but one of the darkest days in American history.”.
The tension between the administration’s stated justification for the fund and Tillis’s warning about who could receive payouts now sits in the middle of a broader fight over federal authority. congressional power. and whether pardons can make violence against police officers eligible for compensation. For Tillis, the dispute isn’t theoretical. It’s about whether the government’s next step will be a line he can help enforce—or one he says he will try to stop.
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