**Trump Administration Scraps $1.8 Billion Compensation Fund**
The Justice Department will not create a planned $1.8 billion fund intended to compensate people who say they were improperly targeted by federal law enforcement. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche told lawmakers the department is abandoning the program entirely.
The Trump administration is not moving forward with a planned $1.8 billion compensation fund, Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche told a House Appropriations Committee hearing Tuesday.
Blanche confirmed the decision in response to questions from lawmakers. “We are not moving forward with the fund, period,” he said. When asked directly whether the administration was ditching the fund, he replied, “That is correct.”
The fund, formally known as the $1.776 billion “Anti-Weaponization Fund,” had been established as part of a settlement resolving a lawsuit filed against the Internal Revenue Service over the leak of tax returns. Under the original plan, a five-member commission would have reviewed and decided individual payout claims.
The settlement also included an IRS component that ended certain pending tax inquiries; Blanche’s testimony indicated that portion of the agreement remains unchanged.
A federal judge in Virginia issued a temporary restraining order halting the fund last week and scheduled additional arguments for June 12. Senate Republicans had delayed related legislation while seeking further details on oversight and potential recipients.
Blanche stated that the Department of Justice “remains committed to addressing past enforcement practices” even after dropping the compensation mechanism.
In the same hearing he said, “This Department of Justice was weaponized against many, many Americans. And we’re trying every day to fix it.”
Signs that the administration would abandon the fund emerged Monday when officials indicated they would comply with the Virginia court order temporarily blocking it. Senate Majority Leader John Thune said Monday that he hoped the White House would move to drop the fund.
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