WASHINGTON — Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche signed a formal order late Sunday rescinding President Trump's $1.8 billion "anti-weaponization fund," clearing the last obstacle in front of a Senate Judiciary Committee vote Tuesday on his nomination to run the Justice Department permanently.
The order, brokered by Sen. John Cornyn of Texas, converts what Blanche had insisted verbally for months — that the fund to compensate Trump allies including potential Jan. 6 defendants was dead — into the written Justice Department directive that Cornyn and Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina had demanded before endorsing Trump's former personal defense lawyer. It follows a Thursday postponement of the committee vote and a weekend standoff in which Trump threatened to keep Blanche as acting attorney general and push the fund through Congress if the two senators did not relent.
In writing
"This Order establishes, beyond any doubt, that there is no Fund," the document states, noting that "no Members were appointed; no funds were transferred; no process for receiving claims was established; no claims were paid." Blanche posted the order to X alongside a note saying his team had "enjoyed good faith discussions" with senators over the past several weeks.
Tax audit narrowed
The order also curtails a separate provision of the underlying IRS settlement that had shielded Trump, his sons Donald Jr. and Eric, and the Trump Organization from tax audits. The immunity now "applies only retroactively" to claims open at the time of the settlement, the document clarifies, leaving future filings subject to examination.
Cornyn's deal
Natalie Yezbick, a spokeswoman for Cornyn, who lost this year's Republican primary after Trump endorsed his opponent, confirmed the senator "has reached an agreement with the Department of Justice." Tillis, who is retiring in January, did not immediately comment.
Trump's threat
Trump held out for weeks. On Saturday, he warned on Truth Social that he would keep Blanche as acting attorney general and "push hard" to pass the fund through Congress if the two senators did not fall in line. Hours before the order was signed Sunday evening, Trump defended the fund's purpose, saying Jan. 6 defendants had "their lives destroyed."
"This would be a reimbursement for the pain that they suffered," Trump said. "A lot of people like it."
Skepticism remains
Democrats and a number of Republicans have branded the plan a "slush fund," and even with the order in hand, Tillis used his Saturday post responding to Trump's threat to question whether the president would let the idea go. Trump "clearly intends to resurrect the payout pot for punks either by inappropriately establishing another bogus fund or pushing Congress to vote for a bill that the majority of Republicans in the Senate would be against," Tillis wrote. Blanche, elevated to acting attorney general in April after Trump fired Pam Bondi, has moved to accelerate investigations into the president's perceived foes.
The committee is scheduled to vote Tuesday.