{"id":42461,"date":"2026-08-13T05:26:43","date_gmt":"2026-08-13T00:26:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=42461"},"modified":"2026-08-13T05:26:43","modified_gmt":"2026-08-13T00:26:43","slug":"todd-blanche-confirms-anti-weaponization-fund-remains-defunct","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=42461","title":{"rendered":"Todd Blanche confirms anti-weaponization fund remains defunct"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><script>\r\n  atOptions = {\r\n    'key' : '644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6',\r\n    'format' : 'iframe',\r\n    'height' : 90,\r\n    'width' : 728,\r\n    'params' : {}\r\n  };\r\n<\/script>\r\n<script src=\"https:\/\/www.highperformanceformat.com\/644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<br \/><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/08\/blanchetodd_080526nk02_w.jpg?w=900\" \/><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>\n        <iframe id=\"instaread_iframe\" width=\"100%\" height=\"100%\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"0\" loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Audio Article\" style=\"display:block\" data-pin-nopin=\"true\"><\/iframe>\n    <\/p>\n<p><\/instaread-player><\/p>\n<p>Attorney General Todd Blanche again said Wednesday the \u201canti-weaponization\u201d fund he proposed, then later revoked, is \u201cdead.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>During a press conference on the Department of Justice (DOJ) <a href=\"https:\/\/www.justice.gov\/opa\/video\/11-defendants-charged-dismantling-decade-long-nationwide-marriage-fraud-scheme\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">securing indictments<\/a> of 11 individuals charged with orchestrating sham marriages, Blanche took issue with a reporter\u2019s question on whether he would seek again to establish the fund.\u00a0<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr1_ab\">\n<\/aside>\n<p>\u201cI keep on saying this over and over again, but I\u2019m happy to say it one more time. I have testified under oath that it\u2019s dead. I have testified in front of the House where I wasn\u2019t under oath, where I said it was dead,\u201d Blanche told reporters. \u201cI have answered questions after my hearing, where I said that it was dead.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He later remarked, \u201cI\u2019m not sure how I can further \u2026 say that the anti-weaponization fund doesn\u2019t exist, or we use the word \u2018dead.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Blanche, who <a href=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/homenews\/administration\/6020995-blanche-attorney-general-sworn-in\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">officially took on<\/a> the full-time attorney general mantle on Monday, also <a href=\"https:\/\/www.justice.gov\/ag\/media\/1455261\/dl?inline\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">noted he rescinded<\/a> his initial May order authorizing the formation of the $1.776 billion fund.<\/p>\n<p>Blanche did so <a href=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/policy\/national-security\/donald-trump-anti-weaponization-fund-todd-blanche\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">in exchange<\/a> for GOP Sens. John Cornyn (Texas) and Thom Tillis (N.C.) supporting his nomination \u2014 which <a href=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/homenews\/senate\/6017820-senate-todd-blanche-attorney-general-nomination\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">passed the Senate<\/a> via a 50-49 vote.<\/p>\n<p>Blanche had previously <a href=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/homenews\/administration\/5906562-blanche-anti-weaponization-fund\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">backed off<\/a> the fund after lawmakers on both sides of the aisle expressed concern that individuals convicted for their involvement in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol could seek taxpayer money.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Multiple federal judges also <a href=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/regulation\/court-battles\/5902065-trump-irs-lawsuit-reopened\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">took issue<\/a> with the circumstances of the fund\u2019s creation, which occurred via a settlement in President Trump\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/regulation\/court-battles\/5966060-trump-irs-settlement-voided-federal-judge\/?fbclid=IwY2xjawTpo25wZG9mAWV4dG4DYWVtAjEwAGJyaWQRMVVVZmdqSnFrMVpZM1A0dk5zcnRjBmFwcF9pZBAyMjIwMzkxNzg4MjAwODkyAAEe2dpi9B1ur6ZdgjGn7p-aq_QXZefm59K7T5TKxC-1baBxHuhabrECgllt94Q_aem_5y5lvTEvKuOta00vuYVL6g\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">reopened lawsuit<\/a> against the IRS.\u00a0<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr2_ab\">\n<\/aside>\n<p>Blanche on Tuesday also reiterated the language of his Aug. 2 order rescinding the fund, saying \u201cthere were never commissioners\u201d in charge of the payout pot and that no money went to claimants from the fund.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Even after the DOJ halted the fund, Trump has <a href=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/homenews\/administration\/5913795-trump-defends-anti-weaponization-fund\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">expressed support<\/a> for it. After Blanche was sworn in as attorney general, the president told reporters the future of the initiative was \u201cup to\u201d Blanche, his former personal attorney.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>While he said Tuesday the fund as previously constituted was dead, Blanche said he and the president would support congressional legislation on the matter.\u00a0<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr3_ab\">\n<\/aside>\n<p>\u201cThe president feels very strongly, as do I, that there were people who were victims of a Department of Justice that was absolutely weaponized, and he feels very strongly that he would want to make them whole, as do I,\u201d the attorney general added. \u201cBut it will not be through the anti-weaponization fund, which, again, was never set up, and nothing has happened with it.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.<\/p>\n<script async=\"async\" data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"https:\/\/pl30214220.effectivecpmnetwork.com\/9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<div id=\"container-9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\"><\/div>\r\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Attorney General Todd Blanche again said Wednesday the \u201canti-weaponization\u201d fund he proposed, then later revoked, is \u201cdead.\u201d During a press conference on the Department of Justice (DOJ) securing indictments of 11 individuals charged with orchestrating sham marriages, Blanche took issue with a reporter\u2019s question on whether he would seek again to establish the fund.\u00a0 \u201cI&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":42462,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thehill.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/08\/blanchetodd_080526nk02_w.jpg?w=1280","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-42461","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-political-news"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42461","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=42461"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42461\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/42462"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=42461"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=42461"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=42461"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}