Trump pushes $1.8 billion DOJ fund over Blanche nomination

Jennifer A. Dlouhy and Steven T. Dennis, Bloomberg News on Aug 1, 2026

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President Donald Trump doubled down on his commitment to a $1.8 billion fund to help his supporters, saying he’d now work with Congress to make it federal law — even if it costs him his nominee for U.S. attorney general.

Trump said in a social media post Saturday that he would “push hard to get the Anti-Weaponization Bill” passed, adding: “It will immediately be back on the table, and I will get it done.”

The president has vacillated on this issue since the fund was announced by the Justice Department this spring to swift opposition even from within his own party. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche’s nomination to fill the post permanently is now inextricably linked to the fate of the fund Trump says would be used to compensate people he believes were politically prosecuted, possibly including Jan. 6 Capitol rioters.

Blanche assured senators under oath that the fund was “dead,” but Trump has repeatedly said he wished it wasn’t, leading to concerns from Republican opponents including Sens. John Cornyn and Thom Tillis that Trump would try to revive it.

Trump has urged them to confirm Blanche, threatened to withdraw his nomination, and now says he will push for the fund to be enshrined into law.

As recently as Friday, Trump told reporters the fund was dead, before swiftly adding: “But, you know, I wish it weren’t, to be honest with you.”

The president also on Saturday reiterated his earlier threat to keep Blanche in his position as acting attorney general, effectively abandoning a confirmation push for the U.S. law enforcement chief. That push has been stalled by lawmakers’ objections to the fund and a separate deal giving Trump and his family sweeping immunity from tax-related investigations.

Tillis, in response, reaffirmed his intent to block Blanche on Saturday. He and Cornyn want not only written guarantees that the fund is dead, they also want fresh limits on the scope of the immunity deal with the Internal Revenue Service.

“President Trump clearly intends to resurrect the payout pot for punks either by inappropriately establishing another bogus fund or pushing Congress to vote for a bill that the majority of Republicans in the Senate would be against,” Tillis said in a social media post.

Trump’s decision to double down threatens not only to obliterate Blanche’s chances at confirmation but also revive an unpopular political issue months before the November midterm elections.

Republicans have tried unsuccessfully to encourage Trump to focus on the economy and affordability as polls show cost-of-living concerns will be a major factor in the November contests.

Trump has repeatedly described his anti-weaponization fund as popular, but lawmakers have already taken votes against the fund and Trump doesn’t have the support of 50 senators to create one.

The $1.8 billion fund was created as part of a settlement agreement resolving Trump’s lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service over leaks of his tax returns.