{"id":2609308,"date":"2026-06-01T20:02:01","date_gmt":"2026-06-02T00:02:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/trump-backs-off-anti-weaponization-fund-amid-senate-opposition\/"},"modified":"2026-06-01T20:02:35","modified_gmt":"2026-06-02T00:02:35","slug":"trump-backs-off-anti-weaponization-fund-amid-senate-opposition","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/trump-backs-off-anti-weaponization-fund-amid-senate-opposition\/","title":{"rendered":"Trump backs off anti-weaponization fund amid Senate opposition"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">16<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Ftrump-backs-off-anti-weaponization-fund-amid-senate-opposition%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2609308&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The Justice Department has temporarily paused its $1.<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/trumps-anti-weaponization-fund-gets-cold-reception-from-gop-on-capitol-hill\/\" title=\"Trump&#039;s &#039;anti-weaponization&#039; ... gets cold reception from GOP on Capitol Hill\">776 billion \u201canti-weaponization\u201d fund<\/a>, saying it will abide by a federal judge\u2019s order while legal challenges continue. The move follows intense pushback from Senate Republicans and marks a short-term retreat for President Donald Trump amid broader budget disagreements in Congress.<\/p>\n<p>A Senate leadership aide characterized the pause as a walk-back, arguing the fund is effectively unworkable under current Senate GOP constraints. although the ruling halts the fund only until a mid-June court date,the situation escalated after GOP senators met with Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche and expressed concerns about how the fund would operate-especially the guidance on who could be compensated,including issues tied to lawmakers\u2019 subpoenaed cellphone data from prior investigations.<\/p>\n<p>Republican leaders had already been thrown off track by objections to the fund, along with additional money for white House security upgrades, contributing to the postponement of consideration of a related tax and spending bill.Even after the DOJ statement, some Republicans-including Sen. Shelley Moore capito and Rep. Don Bacon-signaled they expect more investigation or argued the fund may be effectively \u201cdead\u201d unless it is successfully appealed, while DOJ did not clarify whether Trump plans to bring it back later.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<article class=\"fn-body\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/justice-department\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"167\">Justice Department\u2019s<\/a> agreement to temporarily pause its anti-weaponization fund marks a rare retreat from President <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/donald-trump\/\">Donald Trump\u2019s<\/a> White House as a legal challenge unfolds and opposition from congressional <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/republicans\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"240\">Republicans<\/a> threatens to blow up a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/border-infighting-consumes-democrats\/\" title=\"B... Infighting Consumes Democrats\">party-line budget bill<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The department\u2019s Monday announcement that it would \u201cabide by\u201d a court order pausing the creation and operation of the $1.776 billion fund comes after significant GOP pushback and is a rare, if only temporary, political loss for Trump on Capitol Hill as tensions grow with Senate Republicans.<\/p>\n<section class=\"explore-more-section\" id=\"wex-recommended-widget\">\n<div class=\"magazine-container single\">\n<h1 class=\"magazine-title mt-2\">Recommended Stories<\/h1>\n<p>             <i class=\"fa-solid fa-play icon\"><\/i>         <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-grid\">\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/white-house\/4589874\/trump-pulls-plug-doj-anti-weaponization-fund\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Trump administration hits pause on DOJ anti-weaponization fund as legal challenge plays out<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/white-house\/4589874\/trump-hits-pause-doj-anti-weaponization-fund\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Trump administration hits pause on DOJ anti-weaponization fund as legal challenge plays out<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/4589833\/tina-peters-election-rigging-narrative-after-release-prison\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Tina Peters pushes election-rigging narrative hours after release from prison<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The judge\u2019s <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/storage.courtlistener.com\/recap\/gov.uscourts.vaed.596617\/gov.uscourts.vaed.596617.31.0_2.pdf\">ruling<\/a> halted the operation of the fund only until June 12, when the next court hearing on the matter is scheduled. However, a Senate leadership aide told the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em> that leadership views the DOJ\u2019s statement as a walk-back of the fund and an acknowledgment by the administration that it\u2019s essentially unworkable among Senate Republicans. <\/p>\n<p>Uproar over the fund\u2019s creation, in addition to the inclusion of money for White House security upgrades, had already derailed Republican leadership\u2019s plans to pass a second GOP-led reconciliation bill ahead of the president\u2019s June 1 deadline before Congress recessed for Memorial Day last month.<\/p>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Republican criticism of the fund hit a fever pitch May 21 after a group of GOP senators met with acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, ultimately leading Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) to <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/white-house\/4578599\/white-house-meeting-gop-leadership-canceled\/\">postpone consideration<\/a> of the tax and spending bill.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A senior GOP aide told the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em> at the time that Blanche\u2019s briefing had failed to assuage GOP senators\u2019 concerns, and Republicans further soured over the White House\u2019s official guidance on who could be compensated by the fund, including lawmakers whose cellphone data had been subpoenaed during Biden-era investigations.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In the lead-up to the DOJ\u2019s statement, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) had discussed the fund earlier on Monday during a meeting at the White House.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cLook, I think the president really liked this idea, but he also doesn\u2019t want to rock the boat too much. Speaker Johnson made a compelling case for slowing down here,\u201d one <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/cdc-to-release-revised-guidance-reducing-covid-19-quarantine-time-from-14-days-to-7-10\/\" title=\"CDC to release revised guidance reducing COVID-19 quarantine time from 14 days to 7-10\">senior administration official told<\/a> the <em>Washington Examiner.<\/em> \u201cUltimately, it\u2019s up to President Trump which way to proceed.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Thune indicated Monday afternoon that he had also made his \u201cviews clear on the subject\u201d directly to the White House and that he was not in favor of advancing additional funding for immigration operations or the president\u2019s White House ballroom project without specific language blocking the future application of Trump\u2019s lawfare fund. <\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Three Trump administration officials could not say whether Monday\u2019s action indicated that the president was dropping the issue entirely or simply \u201cbuying time,\u201d as one aide characterized it, before moving forward with some variation of his original plan, once the legal challenges to the fund run their course.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Rep. Don Bacon (R-NE), who has been critical of the fund, told the <em>Washington Examiner <\/em>in a text message that unless the administration successfully appeals the court\u2019s ruling, the fund is \u201cdead.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe structure of agreement did not make sense,\u201d Bacon wrote. \u201cThe complainant is the boss of the defendant, so the President\u2019s team was negotiating with itself over tax dollars. It doesn\u2019t pass the smell test.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/white-house\/4589874\/trump-pulls-plug-doj-anti-weaponization-fund\/\"><strong>TRUMP HITS PAUSE ON DOJ ANTI-WEAPONIZATION FUND<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Still, the statement published by the Justice Department notably said that the administration would abide by Friday\u2019s ruling from a federal judge, which paused disbursement of any monies from the fund until the legal challenges to the fund itself were resolved, and did not say whether the president planned to take up the fund again in the future.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) did not appear to be satisfied with the DOJ statement, saying it needed more investigation and that Republicans would have a \u201cmore robust discussion about it.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>DOJ pauses Trump anti-weaponization fund after GOP backlash and court order<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2609309,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/AP26085576003325.jpg?w=696","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[45266,40484,3740,3634,50646],"class_list":["post-2609308","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-campaign-news","tag-political-opposition","tag-senate","tag-trump","tag-weaponization-2"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/AP26085576003325.jpg?w=696","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2609308","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2609308"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2609308\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2609312,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2609308\/revisions\/2609312"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2609309"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2609308"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2609308"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2609308"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}