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Lawmakers from both the Democratic and Republican parties are pushing back against a so-called “anti-weaponization” fund, established by President Donald Trump and the Department of Justice (DOJ), that is ostensibly designed to provide financial compensation to individuals who feel they’ve been unfairly targeted by the federal government.
The fund was created following Trump’s decision to drop a $10 billion lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), over that agency’s leaking of his and his family’s tax documents during his first term as president. Instead of pursuing the lawsuit, Trump reportedly entered into a settlement wherein a fund, totaling $1.776 billion, could provide compensation to his loyalists who believe they were wrongly investigated or convicted — including individuals who took part in the January 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.
The settlement is being questioned, as Trump has considerable say over the direction of the agencies and departments involved.
In addition to the fund (which many critics are describing as a “slush fund”), acting Attorney General Todd Blanche signed off on another aspect of the settlement, giving Trump and his family immunity from future IRS audits or investigations relating to his previously filed tax returns.
On Wednesday, Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Maryland) submitted a bill designed to block the fund from coming to fruition. According to the legislation, entitled the “No Taxpayer-Funded Settlement Slush Funds Act of 2026,” the executive branch would not be allowed to “create or make payments to fund the compensation fund created by the settlement agreement” reached by Trump, the DOJ, and the IRS.
In a statement explaining his proposal, Raskin noted that the slush fund has “glaring constitutional defects,” as “only Congress has the power to appropriate federal dollars, and we didn’t appropriate a cent for the J6 millionaire trust fund.”
“Trump is trying to commandeer nearly $1.8 billion in taxpayer funds to bankroll a slush fund for January 6 cop-beaters and aggrieved MAGA foot soldiers,” Raskin added.
Across the political divide, Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pennsylvania) told reporters that he, too, saw problems with the fund, and implied other members of the party would also seek to block the fund from existing.
“We’re gonna try to kill it,” Fitzpatrick said.
He added:
We’re considering legislative options — we’re going to write a letter to the AG to start. … We’re trying to unpack exactly, you know, what the legal machinations are, but, you can’t do that.
Other Republicans have indicated they may aim to restrict how such a fund could operate, ABC News reported.
Critics have said the fund could feasibly give millions of dollars away to people who attempted to violently overturn the legitimate results of the 2020 presidential election. On Wednesday, Enrique Tarrio, the former leader of the Proud Boys who was previously convicted of seditious conspiracy for his role on January 6 (before receiving a commutation from Trump), indicated that he would seek up to $5 million from the fund.
“I’m not greedy,” Tarrio said to reporters about the amount he wants.
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