President Donald Trump plans to drop the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) $1.8 billion Anti-Weaponization Fund, the Daily Caller has learned.
The decision to drop the fund comes amid scrutiny from Democrats, and even some Republicans, who raised questions about the use of taxpayer dollars. The fund was intended to compensate victims of government weaponization and lawfare with formal apologies and monetary relief.
“It’s dead for now,” one senior administration official told Axios.
The DOJ confirmed to the Caller that they would be abiding by a recent court decision halting the president’s settlement fund, despite vehemently disagreeing with their ruling.
“The Department of Justice disagrees strongly with the decision on the Anti-Weaponization Fund put forth by the United States District Court Judge in the Eastern District of Virginia, wherein the Court stated that, under no circumstances, may the Department of Justice proceed with the Anti-Weaponization Fund recently established in order to make up for the tremendous abuse, harm, and hate unfairly shown to so many people,” a DOJ spokesperson told the Caller.
“This Fund was open to anybody who was so weaponized, targeted, or persecuted, whether they were Democrat, Republican, Conservative, Independent, or otherwise,” the spokesperson added. The Department will abide by the Court’s ruling.”
The fund was announced just two weeks ago after Trump reached an agreement with the Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to drop a $10 billion lawsuit the president filed after the agencies released his tax records. (RELATED: Here’s How The Anti-Weaponization Fund Will Really Work — And Who It Could Help)
“We’re planning to respect the courts,” an administration official told Axios.
Trump’s weaponization fund looks “dead for now” —but only after
✅ bipartisan congressional opposition
✅an adverse ruling from a federal judge
✅another federal judge launching an inquiry https://t.co/eNZ96Al3Bd
— Marc Caputo (@MarcACaputo) June 1, 2026
“This has become a distraction,” another official said. “The president believes government was weaponized against people — it wasn’t just him. But this isn’t the time and vehicle for it.”
Another source implied to Axios that the decision is temporary and still subject to change.
“The plan right now is to halt it,” the source said. “But the president likes the fund, he believes in it. So nothing is final until it’s final.”
Notably, Senate Majority Leader John Thune seemed to be in the dark about the White House’s decision making process surrounding the fund. When asked if he was notified about the fund being dropped, Thune told reporters, “I have not seen any statement to that effect from the White House as yet.”
The Daily Caller has reached out to the White House for comment.
White House Correspondent Reagan Reese contributed to this report.