Blanche scraps criticized plan that disrupted confirmation
Attorney general nominee ends $1.8B Anti-weaponization fund
By: Melina Khan
USA Today
..... Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said he is rescinding the nearly $1.8 billion anti-weaponizaiton fund that stalled a Senate vote on his nomination for attorney general.
.....
Blanche announced the news August 2 [2026] on X. The heavily criticized fund would have compensated allies of President Donald Trump who say they were unfairly prosecuted during the Biden and Obama presidencies, including those who attacked the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021.
..... Senators John Cornyn, R-Texas, and Thom Tillis, R-North Carolina, held up Blanche's attorney general nomination over questions about the future of the fund.
..... Blanche, Trump's former personal lawyer, has served as acting attorney general since the president fired Pam Bondi in April. [2026] His repeal of the fund helps pave the way for his confirmation in the Senate. The Senate Judiciary Committee has scheduled his nomination vote for August 4, [2026]
according to Reuters.
..... "My team and I have met with committee members and senators over the past several weeks and addressed any concerns or outstanding questions," Blanche wrote on X. "We have enjoyed good faith discussions, and as a result issue the following order and update with regard to the May IRS settlement."
..... Natalie Yezbick, a spokesperson for Cornyn, said in a statement: "Senator Cornyn has reached an agreement with the Department of Justice, which will be issuing a formal order permanently terminating the anti-weaponzaiton fund and making clear in a binding written document that the scope of the audit settlement is limited to only the plaintiffs, including the President, and the IRS."
..... Announced in May, [2026] the fund was cerated as part of a settlement to resolve a $10 billion lawsuit Trump filed against the IRS over allegedly mishandling his tax records. Money was set to go to "victims of law-fare and weaponizaiton," including those who say they were unfairly prosecuted during the Joe Biden and Barack Obama presidencies. Critics argued it would allow people Trump pardoned for the January 6 [2021] Capitol attack to cash in at taxpayer expense.
.....
The fund faced a series of legal setbacks.
Trump and the Justice Department appeared to retreat from its creation, but on July 31, [2026] the president appealed a ruling that blocked access to the fund.
..... And after Blanche's confirmation was held up, Trump took to social media to offer a new threat to Republican senators: Approve Blanche as attorney general or the anti-weaponizaiton fund would return.
..... Trump also said Blanche would stay in his "acting" rank and bring back the fund if he is not confirmed.
..... while Trump argued in the post that the fund would take care of those "badly treated" under the previous presidents, Tillis said in an August 1 [2026] post that it is a "payout pot for punks."
..... Contributing: Emily R. Condon and ayahs Bagchi, USA Today