Todd Blanche rescinds anti-weaponization fund order ahead of Senate vote
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche formally ended the DOJ order for a proposed $1.8 billion fund, easing a Senate confirmation standoff.
By Deshawn Carter · Sports Writer
3 min read
Todd Blanche’s anti-weaponization fund is now formally off the Justice Department’s books, at least under the May order that set it up. The acting attorney general signed an order Aug. 2 rescinding that May 18 action and declaring the proposed fund had “no force or effect,” according to the order posted by Blanche and reported by CBS News.
The proposed fund, valued at nearly $1.8 billion, grew out of a May settlement of President Donald Trump’s lawsuit involving the IRS. It was intended for people claiming they had faced political persecution by the federal government, CBS News and NBC News reported.
Blanche’s order said the fund had never become operational: no members had been appointed, no money transferred, no claims system created and no claims paid. The order also said legal challenges had been brought against the proposal and that at least one court had declined to treat those claims as moot, according to CBS News.
What does Todd Blanche’s order do?
The order cancels the Justice Department’s May 18 directive establishing and implementing the fund. It puts in writing what Blanche had previously told lawmakers, that the department would not move ahead with it, NPR reported.
That does not necessarily settle every question around the underlying IRS settlement. Axios reported that Blanche’s new order rescinded the implementing directive, while the settlement itself included a provision requiring the attorney general to create a fund. Axios also reported that Sunday’s order was signed by Blanche, not by Trump, his sons or the Trump Organization, and that the settlement’s terms could be changed only through a written agreement between the parties.
The distinction matters because it describes what has been terminated now: the Justice Department’s order and any active operation of the fund. It does not establish that the settlement provision can never be pursued or changed later.
Why did the fund affect Blanche’s nomination?
Republican Sens. John Cornyn of Texas and Thom Tillis of North Carolina had withheld support for Blanche’s permanent nomination as attorney general until the administration formally documented that it was ending the fund, CBS News reported. Their opposition had delayed progress on a Senate Judiciary Committee vote.
After the rescission, Cornyn and Tillis said in a joint statement that they were pleased the Justice Department had issued a formal termination order and looked forward to voting to advance Blanche’s nomination, according to NBC News. The committee was scheduled to vote Tuesday.
The accompanying Justice Department clarification also narrowed tax-audit protections connected to the May settlement. NBC News reported that it said the protections apply retroactively to claims open at the time of the settlement and do not shield future tax filings. CNN similarly reported that the document limited the protections to the lawsuit’s named parties.
Blanche said on X that his team had met with senators and committee members in recent weeks to address their concerns before issuing the order.
This story draws on original reporting from CBS News.