The Justice Department said Monday it will comply with a federal court’s temporary order halting the Trump administration’s $1.776 billion “anti-weaponization” fund while litigation continues. The fund, announced as a way to compensate people who say the federal government was used against them, has drawn sharp criticism from Democrats who dubbed it a potential slush fund for Trump allies and unease from some Republicans.
A judge in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia last week temporarily blocked the fund after a lawsuit filed by Democracy Forward and other challengers. The department posted on X that it “strongly disagrees” with the court’s decision but will abide by the ruling. The message said the fund was intended to be available to anyone who alleged they had been weaponized, targeted, or persecuted—regardless of political affiliation.
The proposed fund was part of a settlement tied to former President Trump’s separate $10 billion lawsuit against the IRS over previously leaked tax returns. The Virginia judge is considering whether to extend the temporary pause and has scheduled a hearing on June 12 to decide whether the block should become more permanent.
Separately, the federal judge in Florida who oversaw Trump’s original IRS suit, U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams, is weighing whether to reopen that case after the government announced a settlement and both sides said they were dropping the matter. Williams—an Obama appointee who had earlier questioned whether the litigation was proper given that the president appeared to be on both sides—said she wanted to evaluate whether the case involved deception and whether the court had been misled. She has given Trump’s legal team until June 12 to respond.
For now, the Justice Department will not move forward with establishing or disbursing the anti-weaponization fund while the courts resolve the challenges.