The Trump administration has moved to scrap a proposed $1.8 billion "anti-weaponization fund" created as part of President Donald Trump's IRS settlement, as congressional Republicans weigh legislation to block future Justice Department attempts to set up similar special funds without explicit approval from Congress.
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche told lawmakers the department is abandoning the plan after a federal judge ordered work on the fund halted while legal challenges proceed.
The fund was intended to compensate people who said they were targeted by what Trump calls government "weaponization," but critics warned it could operate as a politically driven pool of money outside normal appropriations channels, according to the Associated Press.
The Justice Department has said it will keep in place the settlement provision that bars audits of Trump's past tax records, even as it steps away from the fund mechanism.
Senior Republicans have made clear they want to prevent any future administration from structuring large payout programs through legal settlements without going through Congress.
They are discussing legislation that would require explicit congressional authorization before the Justice Department could again create a fund of this size and purpose.
Lawmakers say they are reviewing how the anti-weaponization proposal was assembled and whether additional reporting and transparency rules are needed for settlement-based programs.
The controversy has unfolded alongside a separate Republican push to secure long-term money for immigration enforcement, a top priority for Trump, Fox News reported.
GOP leaders are advancing a plan to provide multi-year funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol, using a fast-track budget process that would allow them to pass the package on party-line votes. Republicans have sought to keep that immigration effort on a separate track to avoid further delays.
Some Republicans had signaled they would not move ahead on immigration enforcement funding while questions about the anti-weaponization fund persisted.
With the administration now moving to dismantle the fund and Congress eyeing new guardrails, GOP leaders say they hope to clear the way for final negotiations on the enforcement package.
They are aiming to deliver an immigration funding bill to Trump later this year, while also tightening the rules on how future Justice Departments can structure similar settlement funds, as per NPR.
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