Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche announced Tuesday that the Trump administration was not “moving forward” with a controversial “Anti-Weaponization Fund.”
Watch the clip in the video player above.
Rep. Grace Meng, D-N.Y., asked Blanche whether the Justice Department planned to reinstate its $1.8 billion fund following a court-mandated temporary pause.
“We’re not moving forward with the fund,” Blanche said during a hearing before the House Appropriations Committee.
The Justice Department moved to create the fund as part of a settlement with President Donald Trump to end a lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service over the leaking of his tax returns. A federal judge blocked the fund for two weeks pending additional legal arguments.
On Monday, the Justice Department said it disagreed with the ruling but would comply with it. Many Senate Republicans opposed the fund and were holding up immigration enforcement funding over the issue, while other critics worried it might be used to reward rioters who attacked the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
During the hearing on Tuesday, Blanche said his department would not move forward with the fund regardless of the outcomes of future court hearings.
“OK, well, we will work with you and hold you to it,” Meng said.
