MAY 21, 2026
Trump Administration Creates $1.78 Billion "Anti-Weaponization" Fund, Drawing Republican and Legal Scrutiny
The Trump administration announced a nearly $1.78 billion "Anti-Weaponization Fund" established through a settlement between the Internal Revenue Service and President Trump, Eric Trump, and the Trump Organization, resolving a lawsuit over the unauthorized disclosure of Trump's tax records. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche issued an order on May 18 formally creating the fund, which will be overseen by a five-member commission whose members are appointed by the attorney general and can be dismissed by the president. Several Senate Republicans, including Senate Majority Leader John Thune, have publicly questioned the fund's purpose, accountability, and funding source.
The fund, set at $1,776,000,000—a figure the order ties to the year of the country's founding—draws from a pool of taxpayer money that Congress set aside to pay government settlements. Under the settlement, Trump, Eric Trump, and the Trump Organization agreed to drop the underlying lawsuit, which was filed in January in Miami and stemmed from the actions of IRS contractor Charles Littlejohn, who disclosed Trump's tax records in 2019 and 2020 and was later prosecuted. As part of the deal, the federal government will issue a formal apology to Trump and the other plaintiffs, though they are barred from receiving any money from the fund itself.
One day after the fund was announced, the Justice Department released additional settlement terms barring the IRS from investigating Trump, his family, or businesses for past tax issues. According to CNN's annotated review of the documents, the language states the federal government is "FOREVER BARRED and PRECLUDED" from pursuing claims or examinations arising from matters pending before the IRS, including tax returns filed before the agreement was reached. The provision covers Trump's family, trusts, companies, and affiliates, though it does not prevent state-level investigations.
The commission overseeing the fund will set its own rules for evaluating claims and has the option of keeping those policies out of public view. Reports on payments must be submitted privately to the attorney general four times a year but are not required to be made public. Decisions made by the commission on individual claims are largely unappealable, and the fund will stop processing new claims one month before Trump's term ends, with any remaining balance returned to the federal government.