DOJ, amid uproar, says it will abide by court ruling that temporarily paused 'Anti-Weaponization Fund'
The Justice Department issued a statement Monday saying it will abide by a district judge's ruling last week that ordered the temporary freezing of the Trump administration's $1.8 billion "Anti-Weaponization Fund."
The statement came amid reports that the administration was backing away from the controversial fund.
"The Department of Justice disagrees strongly with the decision on the Anti-Weaponization Fund put forth by the United States District Court Judge in the Eastern District of Virginia," the statement said. "This Fund was open to anybody who was so weaponized, targeted, or persecuted, whether they were Democrat, Republican, Conservative, Independent, or otherwise. The Department will abide by the Court's ruling."
ABC News has reported that the administration has been reconsidering moving forward with the fund given that it has thrown the president's legislative agenda into chaos on Capitol Hill.
Both Senate Majority Leader John Thune and Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said Monday that they not only want the White House to drop the fund, but also provide assurances that it won’t be revived later.
“That would be the ideal outcome,” Thune said when asked if the White House needs to make commitments to senators that the fund is gone forever.
“I think if the administration effectively shuts it down, makes that very, very clear, then that to me should answer the question from most Republicans,” Thune said.
The Justice Department's statement, however, does not state that the administration plans to scrap the fund altogether. The judge in the Eastern District of Virginia had only ordered the department to temporarily freeze the fund, and barred it from making any payments while the judge considered legal arguments in a lawsuit brought against the fund.
President Donald Trump, speaking with ABC News' Jonathan Karl on Monday, said he will respect the court's ruling.
"We are subject to the courts," Trump said in a telephone conversation. "At this moment, that's what it is."
"If a court doesn't allow it, and right now a court has it held up, what can you do?" Trump said.
The $1.776 billion fund, announced last month, was established by the Justice Department to compensate those who allege they were wrongly targeted under the Biden administration.
It was created in exchange for President Donald Trump agreeing to drop his $10 billion lawsuit against the IRS as well as two civil claims for $230 million related to the Russia collusion investigation he faced during his first term in office and the 2022 search of his Mar-a-Lago estate -- sparking accusations of self-dealing and a bipartisan uproar over the possible use of taxpayer money to pay rioters who attacked the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, pressed about the fund last month, said, "Anybody in this country is eligible to apply if they believe they're a victim of weaponization."
