Justice Department Creates a $1.776 Billion Fund to Pay People Who Say They Were Targeted by Prior Administrations

The Justice Department announced on May 18 the creation of an Anti-Weaponization Fund drawing $1.776 billion from the federal Judgment Fund, describing it as "a systematic process to hear and redress claims of others who suffered weaponization and lawfare." The fund was established as part of the settlement resolving Trump's $10 billion suit against the IRS. It is administered by a five-member board appointed by the attorney general, with one member chosen in consultation with congressional leadership; the president may remove board members. It can issue formal apologies and monetary compensation and must stop processing claims by December 1, 2028. The department said filing is voluntary and that there are no partisan requirements, but did not specify what claims qualify.

The Judgment Fund is a permanent appropriation Congress created to pay court judgments and settlements against the United States. Using it to stand up a discretionary compensation program run by presidential appointees converts an accounting mechanism into what functions as a grant program outside the appropriations process, with eligibility set by the same department whose prior conduct is the subject of the claims.

Representative Jamie Raskin called the case "nothing but a racket designed to take $1.7 billion of taxpayer dollars out of the Treasury." A federal judge temporarily blocked the fund on May 29, and the department said in June it would drop it.