The Department of Justice has set up a $1.776 billion compensation fund to provide financial relief and formal apologies to allies of President Donald Trump who say they were unfairly targeted by the Biden administration. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche announced the creation of the so-called “anti-weaponization fund” on Monday, describing it as a mechanism to redress grievances from what the administration calls the previous administration’s weaponization of federal law enforcement.
Blanche stated that the fund “will have the power to issue formal apologies and monetary relief owed to claimants,” and emphasized that there is “no partisan requirement” to file a claim. Any money left unclaimed will revert to the federal government. The attorney general’s office will receive quarterly reports detailing who received payments and what form of relief was granted.
The fund will be managed by a five-member commission appointed by the DOJ, with one member selected “in consultation with congressional leadership.” The president retains the authority to remove any member, and the attorney general will appoint replacements. It remains unclear how the commission will determine eligibility for compensation.
Claims will be accepted until December 1, 2028, and the fund will cease operations on December 15, 2028—just weeks before the end of Trump’s second term if he is reelected. “The machinery of government should never be weaponized against any American, and it is this Department’s intention to make right the wrongs that were previously done while ensuring this never happens again,” Blanche said.
The announcement did not address whether Trump’s political opponents would be eligible for similar compensation if they believe they were wrongly investigated. It also made no mention of individuals charged in connection with the January 6, 2021, Capitol attack, including those pardoned or whose sentences were commuted by Trump. When asked if those participants could receive funds, Trump told reporters, “I didn’t do this deal. It was told to me yesterday,” deferring to the commission.
The fund originates from a settlement in Trump’s now-dismissed $10 billion lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service, filed after a contractor leaked his tax returns to the media. The DOJ cited the Obama-era Keepseagle v. Vilsack case, which created a $760 million fund for Native American farmers alleging discrimination. Joseph Sellers, an attorney in that case, told CNN the circumstances are “completely different,” noting that unclaimed funds in Keepseagle went back to the same community, not a general fund.
The creation of the fund has drawn fire from Democrats and at least one Republican. Senator Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, who just lost his primary, called it a “slush fund” without legal precedent. “People are concerned about making their own ends meet, not about putting a slush fund together,” he said. Senator John Kennedy, also of Louisiana, said he was “open to the concept” but questioned eligibility and funding sources.
House Democrats have filed an amicus brief seeking to block the fund, arguing it violates Article III of the Constitution and “raises the specter of corruption unparalleled in American history.” Representative Jamie Raskin, the top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, denounced it as a “racket” to funnel taxpayer dollars to “Trump’s private militia of insurrectionists, rioters, and white supremacists.”
For more on the political fallout, read about Senate grilling of Acting AG Blanche over the $1.8B fund and House Democrats’ lawsuit to block the fund.
