by Ben Whedon
House Speaker Mike Johnson on Tuesday confirmed that the chamber was unlikely to approve the Department of Justice’s “anti-weaponization fund” due to the GOP’s narrow majority and internal scrutiny from the rank-and-file lawmakers.
The DOJ originally announced the $1.776 billion fund as part of a settlement to end President Donald Trump’s lawsuit against the IRS over the leak of his tax returns by contractor Charles Littlejohn, who pleaded guilty. The fund was intended to provide restitution to alleged victims of political weaponization from the Biden DOJ, but faced pushback from Republicans over concerns it would be used to reward Trump allies.
Johnson, speaking to reporters, said that the fund was likely “off the table” and indicated he had spoken to Trump about the difficulty of passing it due to the narrow majority.
Trump met with Johnson on Monday to discuss the matter as lawmakers in both chambers suggested it could hinder passage of an immigration enforcement funding plan.
At a congressional hearing, Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said the Trump administration would not be “moving forward with the fund,” according to Politico.
Reports broke on Monday that Trump would ditch plans to establish the fund and the DOJ later confirmed it would comply with a court order barring its implementation.
When the fund was first announced, Blanche said, “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.”
“As part of this settlement, we are setting up a lawful process for victims of lawfare and weaponization to be heard and seek redress,” he added.
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Ben Whedon is a reporter for Just the News. Zachery Schmidt is the digital editor of The Star News Network and contributed to this story.
