Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche confirmed that the anti-weaponization fund is getting dropped during a House Appropriations Committee hearing on Tuesday afternoon.
"We're not moving forward with the fund. Period," he said.
The Justice Department announced on Monday that a federal court order last week prevented them from pursuing the $1.776 billion fund, which was part of a settlement between President Donald Trump and the IRS. However, lawmakers on both sides of the aisle still wanted more reassurance that it would be gone for good.
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche on anti-weaponization fund: "We're not moving forward with the fund. Period."@RepGraceMeng: "Not moving forward ever?"
— CSPAN (@cspan) June 2, 2026
Blanche: "Correct." pic.twitter.com/WhKctKMDd3
“This Fund was open to anybody who was so weaponized, targeted, or persecuted, whether they were Democrat, Republican, Conservative, Independent, or otherwise. The Department will abide by the Court’s ruling,” the DOJ posted to X on Monday.
The Department of Justice disagrees strongly with the decision on the Anti-Weaponization Fund put forth by the United States District Court Judge in the Eastern District of Virginia, wherein the Court stated that, under no circumstances, may the Department of Justice proceed with…
— U.S. Department of Justice (@TheJusticeDept) June 1, 2026
Blanche also addressed concerns about the temporary nature of the federal court order stopping the fund as lawsuits move forward.
"But notwithstanding what we do in those litigations, and then defending our rights and making sure our rights are protected,” he said, according to the Washington Examiner. The outlet pointed out that because the DOJ is the defendant in the two lawsuits against the fund, the ball is not in their court.
UPDATE: Blanche addresses the EDVA TRO over the lawfare fund after saying repeatedly DOJ is "not moving forward with the fund."
— Kaelan Deese (@KaelanDC) June 2, 2026
"But notwithstanding what we do in those litigations, and then defending our rights and making sure our rights are protected."
DOJ are defendants in… https://t.co/GqKyN0gYOe
The proposal was seen as a wrench thrown into the Republican-backed reconciliation bill to get Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) funded.
“The only thing that's gonna solve this problem — to get immigration funded and law enforced — is for the president to do away with the weaponization fund,” Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA), who helms the Senate Judiciary Committee, said on Monday, according to Punchbowl News.
Senate Judiciary Chair GRASSLEY says DOJ’s statement on anti-weaponization fund isn’t enough
— Laura Weiss (@LauraEWeiss16) June 1, 2026
“The only thing that's gonna solve this problem — to get immigration funded and law enforced — is for the president to do away with the weaponization fund.”
The Trump administration argued that the fund would benefit Americans who had been unfairly targeted by the federal government.
“The use of government power to target individuals or entities for improper and unlawful political, personal, or ideological reasons should not be tolerated by any Administration,” Principal Associate Deputy Attorney General Trent McCotter stated on May 18, when the fund was announced.
However, some Republicans and Democrats raised questions about the fund’s parameters.
"Are there going to be guardrails in place, like, for example, if someone attacked a police officer on January 6th, would they be able to get the fund? If someone was convicted of child molestation, would they be able to access money with this fund?" a GOP Senate aide told Townhall earlier this week over questions lawmakers were asking.
Prior to Blanche’s comments, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer doubled down on Tuesday afternoon over his plan to introduce a reconciliation amendment blocking the fund.
“We will not trust the word of the corrupt president who stands to benefit the most from it,” Schumer posted.
The only way to ensure Trump’s $2B MAGA slush fund never sees the light of day is to abolish it by law
— Chuck Schumer (@SenSchumer) June 2, 2026
We will not trust the word of the corrupt president who stands to benefit the most from it
That's why the first amendment I will offer on the GOP reconciliation bill will be…
“That's why the first amendment I will offer on the GOP reconciliation bill will be to ban it permanently AND revoke the Trump family’s free rein to commit tax fraud,” the Democrat added.
As for the reconciliation bill, it remains the last piece of the puzzle for the federal government to be fully funded, as ICE and CBP were carved out of the Homeland Security funding deal this spring.
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