Blanche ends anti-weaponization fund, seeks Senate approval

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche issued a formal order Sunday ending President Donald Trump’s $1.8 billion anti-weaponization fund. The anti-weaponization fund was planned to compensate citizens whom the administration deemed unjustly targeted by the government, although officials said in June that they dropped those plans. Meanwhile, Blanche has worked for weeks to negotiate with two Republican senators who blocked his confirmation as attorney general over concerns that the fund could be revived.

Blanche posted two separate orders on social media rescinding the long-contested fund and limiting a provision that shielded Trump and his family from tax audits. The order said that beyond any doubt, there is no anti-weaponization fund.

What senators opposed Blanche? While he told Congress in June he had dropped plans for the fund, Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., and Texas Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, had wanted that assertion cemented in writing. The two feared that Trump intended to resurrect the fund, Tillis previously said on social media. They promised to block Blanche’s confirmation over the issue.

Blanche said Sunday’s order came after he had good-faith discussions with the senators. A spokeswoman for Cornyn confirmed the deal in a statement Sunday. Tillis did not publicly comment on the deal over the weekend.

The Senate Judiciary Committee will vote on Blanche’s nomination to be attorney general in a permanent capacity later this month.

Dig deeper: Read Travis K. Kircher’s report on when Blanche told Congress he had dropped plans for the fund.