Sen. Thom Tillis said President Donald Trump’s nearly $1.8 billion “Anti-Weaponization Fund” is “stupid on stilts,” arguing it could compensate people who assaulted police on Jan. 6 after they were convicted and then pardoned. His comments came as the Departme
Sen. Thom Tillis didn’t mince words when he talked about President Donald Trump’s nearly $1.8 billion “Anti-Weaponization Fund.”
In an interview with Spectrum News 1’s Washington correspondent Reuben Jones on Thursday, the Republican senator from North Carolina called the idea “stupid on stilts.” His argument was direct—and aimed at what he said the fund could do to American taxpayers.
“It will invariably put us in a position where your taxpayers dollars and my taxpayer dollars could potentially compensate someone who assaulted a police officer, admitted their guilt, got convicted, got pardoned and now we are going to pay them for that. That’s absurd,” Tillis said.
Tillis linked that concern to the fund’s stated purpose, which critics describe as a slush fund for Trump allies. The senator also said the “front line” of the Jan. 6. 2021 Capitol riot—whom he described as “thugs that should still be in prison and be in prison as long as the law would allow”—could be among those seeking payouts.
The backdrop for Tillis’ remarks is a DOJ announcement on Monday that it was launching the fund as part of a settlement meant to resolve Trump’s lawsuit against the IRS over the leak of his tax returns. The fund is facing severe bipartisan backlash.
Tillis framed the controversy around what he sees as eligibility rules that could expand compensation to people who harmed law enforcement. Before the larger argument, he made a blunt forecast about public reaction.
“The American people are going to reject this” fund, Tillis said.
He then went further, characterizing the policy as inherently unjust if it takes money from those who disagree with how it would be used.
Slamming the fact that people he said are eligible could receive payments, the GOP senator called it “the definition of tyranny.”
“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,” he added.
Tillis’ criticism also turned to the Justice Department’s leadership. He said acting Attorney General Todd Blanche had not ruled out the possibility that people who assaulted police officers on Jan. 6, 2021, could be eligible for compensation from the fund. Tillis called Blanche’s comments earlier this week “objectionable” and “insulting.”.
The exchange underscores a fight now playing out in public, with Tillis treating the fund not as a technical settlement mechanism but as a live test of how far the government is willing to go—and who ultimately pays the bill.
Thom Tillis Anti-Weaponization Fund Donald Trump Department of Justice IRS lawsuit tax returns leak Jan. 6 acting Attorney General Todd Blanche settlement pardons police assaults