US judge indefinitely blocks Trump’s $1.8bn ‘anti-weaponisation’ fund
A federal judge in Virginia has issued a preliminary injunction against the Trump administration’s $1.8 billion fund intended to compensate alleged victims of government ‘weaponisation’ and ‘lawfare’, dealing another blow to the controversial scheme.
US District Judge Leonie Brinkema of the Eastern District of Virginia on Friday granted an indefinite block on the Trump administration’s plan to create a $1.8bn “anti-weaponisation” fund, replacing a temporary halt issued last week with a preliminary injunction. The fund was designed to provide payments to individuals who claimed to have been targeted by what President Donald Trump calls “lawfare” and “weaponisation” of the federal government.
The fund originated from a $10bn lawsuit Trump filed against the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), settled through a Justice Department agreement. The initial plan called for a $1.776bn fund managed by a five-member commission that would determine eligibility for payments. However, the Justice Department, led by Attorney General Todd Blanche, walked back the proposal earlier this month amid bipartisan backlash and lawsuits. Government attorneys argued that challenges to the fund are now moot because the administration has abandoned it.
In practice, the commission was never formed, no money was disbursed, and no claims were accepted. Many Republicans opposed compensating those who stormed the US Capitol on January 6, 2021. In May, Blanche refused to rule out that violent Capitol rioters could qualify for payments. Trump had previously pardoned over 1,500 individuals charged in the January 6 attack on his first day back in office last year.
Plaintiffs who sued to block the plan argued that it amounted to a slush fund diverting taxpayer money, and they expressed scepticism about Blanche’s assurances that the fund would not proceed. While the administration has distanced itself from the scheme, Trump himself has not endorsed its cancellation and continues to speak favourably about it in public comments.
