US President Donald Trump may be reconsidering or entirely planning to drop the idea of a whopping $1.8 billion fund to compensate victims of alleged government “weaponisation”. Reports pointing to the possibility emerge after a setback to Trump’s plans after voices within his own Republican senators spoke against the passage of the fund.
According to news agency Associated Press, the Justice Department would temporarily pause the fund in compliance with a court order, and Senate Majority Leader and Republican John Thune has reportedly told the White House that the fund needed to be killed.
“They gave us an ultimatum,” a White House source was quoted as saying by news agency Reuters in a report detailing how the Republicans negotiated to push back against the fund.
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Inside the fund and why Republicans don’t want it
The fund stems from a legal settlement between Trump and the Justice Department to resolve the President’s $10 billion lawsuit against the IRS alleging mishandling of his tax records.
To settle the dispute, an agreement was reached to create the fund worth about $1.776 billion, and use the money to compensate people who claimed they had been unfairly targeted or mistreated by government agencies.
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However, the plan quickly drew opposition with many Republicans fearing that people involved in the January 6, 2021 Capitol riot could end up getting paid. Some critics even called it a “slush fund”, referencing a large pool of taxpayer money that could be distributed with too much political discretion.
Last week, federal judges in Virginia and Florida put the fund on hold till June 12, and the DOJ also complied on Monday, despite saying it “disagrees strongly” with the legal decisions.
Is Trump dropping plans for the fund?
While the DOJ has put the fund on hold for now, it has not committed to abandoning it entirely. However, an AP report suggests Trump is reconsidering the fund, even though there is no formal announcement to this end yet.
According to the report, that the proposal would be pulled back. “They need to say what they actually mean,” said Republican Senator Jim Lankford. “They need to say, ‘We’re setting this whole thing aside.’”
Republican John Thune also said the best way forward would be the White House shutting down the fund. Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski said that if the settlement is “completely pulled, then I’m satisfied. But I haven’t heard anybody say that.”
Trump is “not thrilled” but understands this is the only way forward “for now,” a source told Reuters, adding nothing is final yet.
The pushback against the “anti-weaponisation” fund makes for a rare case, given how Republicans are largely very reluctant to publicly oppose Trump.
