Donald Trump administration has seemingly backtracked on its nearly $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization” fund. Mentioning the step, in a statement, the Justice Department said that although it “disagrees strongly,” it “will abide by the court’s ruling.” The move had earlier received powerful pushback from Republicans who threatened to derail the president’s efforts to pass the funding.
Donald Trump administration signals at backing off on $1.8 billion anti-weaponization fund
Abiding by the federal court ruling, the Donald Trump administration has signalled on Monday that it will back off on the $1.8 billion anti-weaponization fund. The move comes after Senate Republicans threatened to team up with Democrats to block the funding.
“The Department of Justice disagrees strongly with the decision on the Anti-Weaponization Fund put forth by the United States District Court Judge in the Eastern District of Virginia,” the department mentioned on X (formerly Twitter).
The post further read that the anti-weaponization fund “was open to anybody who was so weaponized, targeted, or persecuted, whether they were Democrat, Republican, Conservative, Independent, or otherwise. The Department will abide by the Court’s ruling.”
However, the federal judge’s order on Friday has only temporarily halted the work on the fund until June 12. When asked about the funds, in a phone conversation, Trump told ABC News, “We are subject to the courts. At this moment, that’s what it is. If a court doesn’t allow it, and right now a court has it held up, what can you do?”
Even Republican Sen. Rick Scott of Florida told reporters on Monday that a White House official shared with him that the fund would be “dropped.” “I have talked to the White House. What they told me is they’re dropping it,” Scott said, per CNN.
The fund was initially announced last month by the Justice Department to compensate those who claim they were unfairly targeted under the Biden administration. It was created in exchange for Trump’s agreement to drop his $10 billion lawsuit against the IRS. But it soon received backlash from every corner, with US Senator Elizabeth Warren labelling the settlement as “corruption on steroids.”
