Acting Attorney General Dismantles Trump’s $1.8 Billion Slush Fund Amid GOP Power Struggle
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Todd Blanche, acting attorney general, has taken decisive action to terminate the $1.8 billion 'anti-weaponization' fund, a Trump-era scheme designed to reward political cronies, in a move to secure support from two Republican senators for his nomination.
On Sunday, Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche signed an order that finally dismantles the $1.8 billion 'anti-weaponization' fund, a relic of Trump’s corrupt patronage network. The fund, created to funnel money to Trump’s political allies, was axed after weeks of backroom dealing with Republican senators John Cornyn of Texas and Thom Tillis of North Carolina, both of whom cynically withheld their votes on Blanche’s nomination as leverage.
A spokesperson for Sen. Cornyn confirmed the deal, which comes just ahead of a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing set for Tuesday. Blanche described the order as the product of 'good faith discussions'—a telling phrase given the GOP’s recent history of obstruction and self-interest.
'I think as far as Blanche and the Department of Justice, we were pretty much on the same page,' Cornyn said Thursday, glossing over the fact that the fund was a blatant attempt to shield Trump loyalists from accountability.
The Justice Department’s statement accompanying the order made clear that the fund was a sham from the start: it was never funded, no members were appointed, and no claims were paid. The order also tightens a related tax-audit immunity provision, limiting it to claims open at the time of settlement and excluding future filings—a necessary step to prevent further abuse.
Cornyn and Tillis, both Judiciary Committee members, had voiced concerns that the fund could be used to compensate those involved in the violent Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection. Their opposition delayed a committee vote on Blanche’s nomination, highlighting the ongoing influence of Trump’s extremist base within the GOP.
Trump, desperate to protect his allies, repeatedly pushed for the fund’s continuation and threatened to withdraw Blanche’s nomination if the senators didn’t cave. He outrageously claimed that those charged in the Jan. 6 attack had 'their lives destroyed' and deserved reimbursement, continuing his campaign to whitewash the insurrection.
This dispute comes on the heels of a court ruling that slammed the settlement of Trump’s lawsuit against the IRS as self-dealing, even referring one of his attorneys for possible disciplinary action. Blanche has denied the judge’s allegations, while the Justice Department dismissed the court’s request for a perjury declaration as 'unnecessary.'