WASHINGTON — Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche issued a formal order late Sunday terminating President Donald Trump's $1.8 billion "anti-weaponization fund" to compensate his political allies, a move that follows weeks of negotiations with two Republican senators who were blocking his nomination to become attorney general.A spokeswoman for Texas Sen.John Cornyn, one of the senators holding up Blanche's nomination, confirmed the deal, which comes ahead of a Tuesday confirmation vote for Blanche's nomination in the Senate Judiciary Committee.
The other GOP senator, North Carolina Sen.Thom Tillis, did not have immediate comment.Blanche said at a June hearing that the fund would not move forward amid bipartisan outrage over the possibility that those considered for payouts could include violent rioters who attacked police at the U.S.
Capitol on Jan.6, 2021.
But Cornyn and Tillis, both members of the Judiciary panel, have said they wanted to see the promise in writing before they endorsed Blanche's nomination — especially as Trump continued to express support for the idea.In a statement, Blanche said the order came after "good faith discussions.""My team and I have met with committee members and Senators over the past several weeks and addressed any concerns or outstanding questions," Blanche said.In a statement accompanying the order, the Justice Department said that "although the Acting Attorney General has repeatedly advised Congress through testimony, including under oath, as well as in written responses, that the Fund is not moving forward, and the Department has repeatedly represented to district courts that the Fund is not moving forward, today's Order officially rescinds the May 18, 2026 Order."Since the settlement of the president's lawsuit against the IRS was announced, "No Members were appointed; no funds were transferred; no process for receiving claims was established; no claims were paid," the order says."This order establishes, beyond any doubt,...