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The Trump administration has abandoned plans for a nearly $1.8 billion compensation fund tied to alleged government “weaponization” after facing strong opposition from Republican lawmakers, Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche told Congress on Tuesday.
“We are not moving forward with the fund,” Blanche said during a House subcommittee hearing. “Period.”
The proposed fund emerged from a settlement between the Department of Justice and President Donald Trump over the president’s lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service concerning the disclosure of his tax records.
Under the agreement, the Justice Department also committed to restricting future audits involving President Trump and members of his family, Blanche confirmed to lawmakers.
The now-scrapped $1.776 billion fund was intended to compensate individuals who claimed they had been subjected to politically motivated government abuse or improper investigations.
The proposal drew some resistance from Republican senators and House members, particularly after Blanche declined last month to explicitly rule out compensation payments to individuals convicted of assaulting police officers during the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot.
The controversy complicated negotiations surrounding a separate $72 billion spending package designed to fund expanded operations for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the United States Border Patrol.
Congressional Republicans reportedly warned the White House that support for the immigration funding bill could collapse unless the compensation fund was eliminated.
“I told him that it was a difficult prospect right now, given our vote tallies,” House Speaker Mike Johnson told reporters.
According to sources familiar with internal discussions, White House officials spent much of Monday contacting lawmakers to reassure them that no payments would be made through the proposed program.
Even so, lawmakers continued demanding a clear public commitment from Blanche during Tuesday’s hearing that the fund had been permanently abandoned. The original lawsuit stemmed from allegations that Trump’s confidential tax records were improperly disclosed during IRS investigations. Trump had sought $10 billion in damages over the handling of those records.