DOJ Says It Will Comply With Court Order Blocking ‘Anti-Weaponization Fund’
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has suspended plans for a proposed anti-weaponization fund following a federal court ruling that temporarily blocked the initiative.
In a statement posted on X, the DOJ expressed strong disagreement with the decision issued by a judge of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia but said it would comply with the order.
“The Department of Justice disagrees strongly with the decision on the Anti-Weaponization Fund,” the department said. “The Department will abide by the Court’s ruling.”
On May 29, a federal judge in Virginia issued a temporary injunction preventing the disbursement of money from the proposed $1.8 billion fund.
The same day, a federal judge in Florida launched an inquiry into allegations of fraud related to President Donald Trump’s recently settled lawsuit concerning alleged leaks of his tax returns by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). The settlement in that case provided the basis for the proposed fund.
The Justice Department announced plans for the $1.78 billion Anti-Weaponization Fund in late May. According to Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, the initiative was intended to create a legal mechanism through which individuals who claim they were unfairly targeted by government investigations or politically motivated prosecutions could seek redress.
“We are setting up a lawful process for victims of lawfare and weaponization to be heard and seek redress,” Blanche said when unveiling the proposal.
The fund would have been authorized to issue formal apologies and financial compensation to individuals whom the Trump administration believes were unjustly subjected to government actions. Funding would have come from the U.S. Treasury’s permanent Judgment Fund, which is used to pay settlements and court judgments involving the federal government.
The proposal quickly drew criticism from Democrats and some Republicans, particularly in the Senate.
During a May 19 hearing on the Justice Department’s fiscal year 2027 budget request, Senator Susan Collins of Maine questioned Blanche about the fund.
Senator Thom Tillis of North Carolina, a Republican who has become increasingly critical of Trump and is not seeking reelection, also condemned the proposal. In a May interview with CNN’s Jake Tapper, Tillis described the initiative as “stupid on stilts.”