- Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, who previously served as Trump’s criminal defense attorney, defended the newly announced nearly $1.8 billion fund intended to compensate individuals who claim to be victims of government "weaponization,” during a Senate appropriations subcommittee hearing Tuesday morning.
- Blanche stated that "anybody can apply" for the fund, explicitly refusing to exclude January 6 rioters who assaulted law enforcement officers or donors to Trump's campaign from receiving taxpayer money.
- The fund was established as part of a settlement after Trump abandoned his $10 billion lawsuit against the IRS, with Blanche asserting its purpose is to correct past wrongs and ensure government machinery is not weaponized.
- Critics, including Democratic Sen. Chris Van Hollen, condemned the initiative as an "outrageous, unprecedented slush fund," expressing concerns that it would effectively funnel American taxpayer dollars to Trump's political allies.
- Blanche defended the fund by comparing it to an Obama-era compensation fund to end a decades-long class-action lawsuit from Native American farmers who experienced discrimination by the federal government. But unlike that case, the people who will likely seek and receive taxpayer dollars from Trump’s fund have suffered no such discrimination.
IN FULL
