Trump to Drop $1.8B ‘Anti-Weaponization’ Fund After Backlash

Ajouté : 2026-06-07

[00:00:00]This morning, a rare reversal. The Trump administration appearing to back off plans for its $1.8 billion so-called anti-weaponization fund after a judge's order put it on hold. The Department of Justice saying it disagrees strongly, but will abide by the court's ruling.

[00:00:16]And President Trump telling ABC News if a court doesn't allow it, and right now a court hasn't held up, what can you do?

[00:00:23]>> Donald Trump should be ashamed of himself for even coming up with this corrupt scheme in the first place.

[00:00:29]>> Democrats called it a slush fund for Trump allies, but there was unusually fierce opposition from Republicans. Some even threatened to team up with Democrats to block it.

[00:00:38]>> And I do think that the best way to handle it is if the the administration decides to shut it down themselves.

[00:00:45]>> President Trump had defended the fund created to compensate people he says were unfairly prosecuted by the Biden administration.

[00:00:52]>> That these were people that were weaponized and really treated brutally by a system that was so corrupt.

[00:00:59]>> But the bipartisan condemnation included a closed-door class between acting Attorney General Todd Blanche and GOP senators.

[00:01:07]>> This is just stupid on stilts.

[00:01:08]>> Amid concerns the fund could be used to pay January 6th rioters.

[00:01:13]>> It's deeply offensive to me that that you could have a fund that could even possibly compensate people who assaulted police officers or vandalized the capital on January 6th.

[00:01:23]>> Democrats are skeptical the administration is abandoning the idea for the fund entirely and are pushing a bill to officially ban it.

[00:01:31]>> And I'm glad to see some of our Republican colleagues speak out on this.

[00:01:36]But there's a simple way to stop this and stop it for good and prohibit any future entertaining of even the idea of this kind of a slush fund at taxpayer expense.

[00:01:47]>> With Congress back in session this week, the controversy over the fund had threatened to torpedo the bill Republicans are trying to push through Congress to pay for ICE and Border Patrol through the end of Trump's term.

[00:01:57]Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche is likely to be grilled about the fund and whether the administration is dropping it for good when he testifies on Capitol Hill later today.

[00:02:07]>> Craig.

[00:02:08]>> Our senior White House correspondent Gabe Gutierrez for us there. Gabe, thank you.

[00:02:11]>> Hey, thanks for watching. And don't forget you can catch the Today show every morning on NBC or take today when you're on the go. Just follow the Today podcast on Apple podcast, Spotify, or wherever you listen.