President Donald Trump attends the National Governors Association breakfast in the State Dining Room, Friday, February, 20, 2026. (Official White House Photo by Daniel Torok)
President Donald Trump’s controversial $1.8 billion anti-weaponization fund appears to be on the verge of collapse as opposition from Republicans continues to mount.
According to Axios reporter Marc Caputo, the fund is now effectively “dead for now,” with an administration source indicating the White House is backing away from the proposal amid growing political and legal pressure.
The fund was created through a settlement involving Trump’s lawsuit against the IRS and was promoted by the Justice Department as a mechanism to compensate Americans who believed they had been victims of political “weaponization” or “lawfare” under previous administrations.
But critics quickly condemned the plan as a potential slush fund for Trump allies, raising concerns that some January 6 defendants could ultimately benefit.
Former Vice President Mike Pence publicly called on Trump to abandon the proposal during an appearance on NBC’s Meet the Press.
“Let’s get rid of this fund,” Pence said. “It’s deeply offensive to me that you could have a fund that could even possibly compensate people who assaulted police officers or vandalized the Capitol on January 6th.”
🚨 WHOA.
Mike Pence just broke with Trump and called the anti-weaponization fund a "bad idea from the start."
But then he went even further.
He said the possibility that January 6 defendants who assaulted police officers or vandalized the Capitol could receive compensation is:… pic.twitter.com/IroCvNpp8t
According to Mediaite, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) met with Trump at the White House on Monday as criticism of the fund intensified throughout the Republican Party. Several GOP senators, including Trump ally Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) and frequent Trump critic Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), publicly opposed the initiative.
Tillis called the proposal “stupid on stilts,” arguing that taxpayers should not be forced to compensate individuals convicted of assaulting police officers.
The opposition now extends to Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.), who suggested Monday that the administration should shut down the fund if Republicans hope to move forward with key spending legislation.
According to The Hill, Thune told reporters that his preference would be for the White House to abandon the proposal altogether.
“I made my views very clear on the issue,” Thune said.
When asked whether he would prefer the administration scrap the fund, Thune nodded in agreement and added, “I do think the best way to handle it is if the administration decides to shut it down themselves.”
The Hill also reported that a $72 billion budget reconciliation package designed to fund Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol operations through 2029 stalled in the Senate before the Memorial Day recess. Republican senators reportedly refused to move forward without clarity on how the administration planned to address the controversial fund.
The political pressure comes as the proposal faces legal challenges as well. Last week, U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema ordered the Justice Department not to establish the fund while litigation surrounding the plan remains ongoing.
If the White House ultimately abandons the proposal, it would mark a significant political setback for the administration and a rare example of congressional Republicans successfully pressuring Trump to reverse course on a major initiative.
