WASHINGTON (AP) — Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche issued a formal order late Sunday terminating President Donald Trump’s $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization fund” to compensate his political allies, a move that follows weeks of negotiations with two Republican senators who were blocking his nomination to become attorney general.A spokeswoman for Texas Sen. John Cornyn, one of the senators holding up Blanche’s nomination, confirmed the agreement late Sunday. The other GOP senator, North Carolina Sen. Thom Tillis, did not have immediate comment.The announcement comes as a Senate Judiciary Committee vote on Blanche is scheduled for Tuesday. “My team and I have met with committee members and Senators over the past several weeks and addressed any concerns or outstanding questions,” Blanche said in a post on X. We have enjoyed good faith discussions, and as a result issue the following order.”
The order says that “although the Acting Attorney General has repeatedly advised Congress through testimony, including under oath, as well as in written responses, that the Fund is not moving forward, and the Department has repeatedly represented to district courts that the Fund is not moving forward, today’s Order officially rescinds the May 18, 2026 Order.” The document released by Blanche on Sunday night also limits the scope of another provision of the settlement that provided broad immunity for Trump and members of his family from tax audits. It clarifies that the tax audit immunity agreement “applies only retroactively” to claims open at the time of the settlement and does not protect the president from examination of future tax filings.
