A federal judge on Friday temporarily blocked President Donald Trump’s administration from setting up a nearly $1.8 billion fund to compensate people it says were wrongly targeted by the government.
US District Judge Leonie Brinkema of the Eastern District of Virginia ordered the administration to take no further action on the creation or operation of the “Anti-Weaponization Fund,” including transferring money, considering claims or making any disbursements. She scheduled a June 12 hearing on whether to extend the freeze.
The $1.776 billion fund was created to resolve Trump’s lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) over the leak of his tax returns, and is meant to pay those who claim they were victims of what Trump and his allies call “lawfare” and “weaponization.” A five-member commission was to oversee the payouts.
The challenge was filed by a coalition that includes Andrew Floyd, a former federal prosecutor who handled January 6 Capitol cases, and Jonathan Caravello, a California professor arrested while protesting an immigration raid, alongside several nonprofits. The plaintiffs, joined by groups such as the city of New Haven, Connecticut, argue the fund is unconstitutional and unlawfully draws from the federal Judgment Fund.
“No administration has the authority to spend public money through a political rewards program,” said Skye Perryman, head of the group Democracy Forward, which helped bring the suit.
The Justice Department said it remains confident in the fund’s legality, pointing to what it called ample precedent, including Obama-era settlements. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche has said eligibility carries no partisan requirements.
The fund has drawn criticism from both parties, with opponents branding it a “slush fund” for Trump’s allies and legal experts warning of weak public oversight. Some Republicans objected that people involved in the January 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol could receive taxpayer money. Brinkema said the pause was needed to preserve the status quo and ensure no funds were “irreversibly disbursed” before she rules.
