Blanche will face questions from lawmakers over a nearly $1.8B fund to
compensate Trump allies
[May 19, 2026]
By ALANNA DURKIN RICHER and ERIC TUCKER
WASHINGTON (AP) — Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche will appear on
Capitol Hill Tuesday for his first congressional testimony since taking
the reins at the Justice Department as the law enforcement agency faces
intense scrutiny over its plans to create a $1.776 billion fund to pay
allies of the Republican president who believe they were targeted
politically.
Blanche's testimony before a Senate appropriations subcommittee follows
Monday's announcement about the creation of the “Anti-Weaponization
Fund,” which critics decried as an illegal abuse of power designed to
line the pockets of Trump supporters with taxpayer dollars.
In the weeks since assuming control of the Justice Department, Blanche
has moved aggressively to advance the president's priorities — pushing
forward cases against Trump's political foes, cracking down on leaks to
media outlets and establishing the new fund to compensate those who
believe they were mistreated by the Biden administration Justice
Department.
Tuesday’s hearing is meant to address the Trump administration's budget
request for the Justice Department but is likely to delve into other
controversies that have escalated concerns about the erosion of the law
enforcement agency's tradition of independence from the White House.
Blanche is expected to face tough questions from lawmakers about the
fund designed to resolve Trump's lawsuit against the Internal Revenue
Service over the leak of his tax returns. Nearly 100 Democrats in the
House of Representatives signed onto a legal brief urging a judge to
block what they described as an unprecedented resolution that they said
would unjustly enrich people close to the president and open the door to
meritless claims of political persecution.
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Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche attends the 45th Annual
National Peace Officers' Memorial Service at the U.S. Capitol,
Friday, May 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
“Let’s call this what it is: a billion-dollar slush fund for Trump
to reward felons, insurrectionists, and cronies, paid for by YOUR
taxpayer dollars,” Democratic Sen. Chris Coons, a member of the
subcommittee from Delaware, wrote on X. “It’s bad enough that this
DOJ believes it works for Donald Trump. Now, it’s giving him its
budget to use as his piggy bank.”
Blanche said Monday the fund will allow for people who believe they
were targeted for prosecution for political purposes to apply for
payouts, creating what he described as “a lawful process for victims
of lawfare and weaponization to be heard and seek redress.”
“The machinery of government should never be weaponized against any
American, and it is this Department’s intention to make right the
wrongs that were previously done while ensuring this never happens
again,” Blanche said in a statement.
The fund is a further demonstration of the administration’s
eagerness to reward allies who before Trump came to power were
investigated and in some cases charged and convicted. Most notably,
the president on his first day back in office pardoned or commuted
the sentences of supporters who rioted at the U.S. Capitol on Jan.
6, 2021. His Justice Department since then has approved payouts to
supporters entangled in the Trump-Russia investigation and
investigated and prosecuted some of his perceived adversaries.
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