Blanche Formally Rescinds Anti-Weaponization Fund Ahead of His Confirmation Vote

This comes just two days before the Senate Judiciary Committee is scheduled to vote on his nomination for attorney general.

Todd Blanche, the acting attorney general nominated to lead the Department of Justice, testifies during his confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, on July 15, 2026. Madalina Kilroy/The Epoch Times

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche issued an order on Aug. 2 formally rescinding President Donald Trump’s $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization” fund ahead of his nomination hearing.

“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 and update with regard to the May IRS settlement,” he said of the fund created by the Department of Justice (DOJ) to compensate victims of “weaponization and lawfare” that a court deemed to be improper.

The order comes as the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee is set to hold an executive business meeting on Aug. 4 to consider Blanche’s nomination for attorney general.

The committee was initially scheduled to vote on July 29, but it was canceled after Sens. John Cornyn (R-Texas) and Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) said they might withhold their votes amid concerns over the DOJ’s creation of the fund.

The fund was part of a settlement agreement in Trump’s lawsuit against the IRS over the leak of his tax returns. The fund was intended to provide money for individuals who claimed to have been targeted by lawfare under the previous administration.

In a statement accompanying the order, the DOJ said that although Blanche had repeatedly advised Congress that the fund was not moving forward and the department had notified district courts it had been scrapped, the Aug. 2 order “officially rescinds the May 18, 2026 order” that established the fund.

The DOJ said the order also narrows the scope of a separate order issued on May 19—which gave Trump, his family members, and his affiliates immunity from any past tax liability—by stating that it applies “only retroactively.”

Blanche stated in his order that no members were appointed to the anti-weaponization fund prior to its formal termination.

“No members were appointed; no funds were transferred; no process for receiving claims was established; no claims were paid. Nevertheless, several frivolous lawsuits have been filed challenging the fund, and at least one court has declined to dismiss those claims as moot,” the order stated. “This order establishes, beyond any doubt, that there is no fund.”

Trump told the Cabinet during a July 31 meeting that the fund was already dead. He said in a post on Truth Social on the same day that the fund was intended for “American Patriots who were hunted down like dogs and whose lives were unfairly and illegally destroyed” by the Biden administration.

Blanche has served as acting attorney general since his predecessor, Pam Bondi, was fired on April 2 and needed the backing of all Republican senators for his confirmation.