Trump acting AG Todd Blanche dodges questions about $1.8 billion 'anti-weaponization' fund payouts

Dave Goldiner, New York Daily News on May 19, 2026

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President Donald Trump’s acting attorney general Tuesday dodged questions about the planned $1.8 billion fund to compensate people deemed to have suffered from government investigation and prosecution in previous administrations, including his MAGA allies and Jan. 6 attackers.

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche refused to bar those convicted of violent attacks on Capitol police officers or white nationalists who planned the attack from scoring potentially huge paydays.

“Anybody in this country is eligible to apply if they believe they were a victim of weaponization,” Blanche told the Senate panel. “They are not excluded from seeking compensation.”

He wouldn’t say how the proposed panel of hand-picked Trump loyalists would vet claims or determine the appropriate payout amounts, or why there would be no independent oversight.

The former personal lawyer to Trump feigned ignorance about any rules for approving payments, though the plan gives him sole authority to review and audit claims.

Blanche also refused to rule out a payout to a Jan. 6 attacker who has since been convicted of child sex abuse and sentenced to life in prison.

Vice President JD Vance defended the plan and said Democrats could also seek a slice of the cash, even former presidential son Hunter Biden, who was convicted of federal drug and weapons charges.

“If Hunter Biden wants to apply for this particular fund he’s welcome to apply,” Vance said. “It’s going to go through a normal process.”

Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., the top Democrat on the subcommittee holding the hearing, blasted the plan as a “pure theft of public funds.”

“Rewarding individuals who committed crimes is obscene,” Van Hollen said. “Every American can see through this illegal, corrupt, self-dealing scheme.”

Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., called the plan a corrupt effort to line the pockets of his allies.

“Trump pardoned violent insurrectionists who assaulted YOUR Capitol to overturn YOUR votes,” Schumer tweeted. “And now he wants to give them YOUR hard-earned tax dollars as a reward.”

Even Republicans vowed to cast a critical eye on the use of taxpayer money to compensate convicted criminals and Trump allies.

“I’m not a big fan,” said Sen. John Thune, the GOP majority leader. “I don’t see a purpose for that.”

Congress holds the power of the purse, but it was unclear what steps it could immediately take to prevent Trump and Blanche from going ahead with the plan.

Critics vowed to sue to block the panel.

Blanche claimed the so-called “Anti-Weaponization Fund,” is similar to another fund that paid out claims to Native American farmers as part of a settlement over decades of government discrimination.

But unlike the new Trump fund, that settlement was approved by a federal judge overseeing the original lawsuit.

Trump abruptly announced the fund Monday after dropping his $10 billion suit against the Internal Revenue Service for a leak of his income tax returns. Blanche portrayed the new fund as part of a settlement of that suit, but by withdrawing the suit, Trump prevented the judge from playing any role in scrutinizing whether the deal is legal.

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