U.S. Capitol officers sue to block DOJ's $1.8 billion fund from reaching Jan. 6 rioters

Added: 2026-05-22

[00:00:00]There is new opposition to a nearly two trillion dollar fund set up by the Justice Department to pay people who allege they were unfairly targeted by the Biden administration's DOJ. Plus, a one billion dollar request that would have helped the president's new White House Ballroom project appears to be dead in the Senate with some members of his own party questioning the expense.

[00:00:21]Natalie Brand has more.

[00:00:23]Video from the January 6th attack on the US Capitol shows Officer Daniel Hodges screaming as he was pinned inside a door working to keep rioters from entering the building. It's just that they committed crimes and they recorded themselves doing these crimes. So, then they face the consequences right up until Trump pardoned them. Hodges and retired US Capitol Police Officer Harry Dunn are now suing to block the Justice Department's new nearly 1.8 billion dollar fund set up to compensate those who claim they were targeted by the Biden Justice Department. They're worried money will go to January 6th defendants. There's no reason that the government should be giving these people money. The fund is the result of the president's own legal settlement with the IRS. And he says it's to compensate those unfairly prosecuted.

[00:01:07]>> People were destroyed. They went to jail. Their families were ruined. But even some Republicans say taxpayer money shouldn't be handed out this way. We got to unpack exactly what it is, what the source of the funding is, in order to stop it and or reverse it.

[00:01:24]Some Republican lawmakers are also pushing back against a request for White House Ballroom construction. The president has said it's security related. Senate Republican leaders appear ready to abandon a proposal to include the Ballroom related money in the immigration enforcement funding bill. There's no architectural plans.

[00:01:43]There is no environmental.

[00:01:45]There's no engineering.

[00:01:47]There's no uh sense of when we ask how did it happen to cost exactly a billion? House leaders insist the money is needed for security and Secret Service.

[00:02:00]The president says the ballroom itself will be funded by private donors is an is on time and under budget.