President Donald Trump will reportedly abandon plans for a nearly $1.8 billion compensation fund designed to pay his allies and alleged “victims” of government “weaponization,” according to multiple reports.
Court Ruling and Congressional Backlash
A pending decision, as reported by Axios and Punchbowl, follows a federal court ruling that temporarily blocks the administration from funding or making any payments from what critics have called a “slush fund” to enrich the president’s aggrieved supporters. The scheme, formally known as the “Anti-Weaponization Fund,” has also come under heavy fire from members of Congress, where lawmakers abruptly abandoned a series of votes before Memorial Day after hitting an impasse over plans to funnel taxpayer dollars into the fund.
Political Fallout
The fund has infuriated lawmakers on both sides of the aisle, with former Vice President Mike Pence denouncing it as “totally unacceptable.” Legal experts have raised significant constitutional concerns, suggesting the fund could violate appropriations clauses and other statutory requirements. The administration’s decision to drop the plan marks a major reversal for Trump, who had championed the fund as a way to compensate individuals he claims were unfairly targeted by federal investigations.
This is a developing story.
