To expedite his confirmation as a permanent replacement to former Attorney General Pam Bondi, Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche has rescinded the Department of Justice’s May order establishing an “anti-weaponization fund.”
Blanche announced the rescinding of the May 18 order by publishing a signed memo to the social media site X late Sunday evening.
“Although the Acting Attorney General has repeatedly advised that the Fund is not moving forward, and the Department has repeatedly represented to district courts that the Fund is not moving forward, today’s Order officially rescinds the May 18, 2026 Order,” the signed memo read.
Blanche wrote in his post that he’d reached this decision after having “met with committee members and Senators over the past several weeks and addressed any concerns or outstanding questions.”
My team and I have met with committee members and Senators over the past several weeks and addressed any concerns or outstanding questions. We have enjoyed good faith discussions, and as a result issue the following order and update with regard to the May IRS settlement. The… pic.twitter.com/U6hs15kw2D
— Acting AG Todd Blanche (@DAGToddBlanche) August 3, 2026
Designed to compensate victims who were politically persecuted by the Biden administration, the fund’s mere existence prompted massive backlash and misinformation from Democrats and their media allies — both of whom falsely accused the fund of being a “slush fund” for President Donald Trump.
Should Blanche have given up the weaponization fund in exchange for getting confirmed?
Yes: 17% (1 Votes)
No: 83% (5 Votes)
Making matters worse, Republicans like Sens. John Cornyn of Texas and Thom Tillis of North Carolina joined the chorus by threatening to block Blanche’s confirmation as Attorney General until the fund was eliminated.
As a result of the backlash, the DOJ said in June that it would no longer be moving forward with the fund, but Cornyn and Tillis continued complaining and demanding that the fund be entirely nixed.
“We need paper. We need it in writing. We don’t need well wishes or, you know, impressions,” Cornyn said last week, according to Politico.
With the elimination of the fund having since been confirmed on paper, only now has Cornyn changed his tune:
BREAKING: Sen. Cornyn has reached an agreement with the DOJ over the weaponization fund and audit, which had been a roadblock in the confirmation of Todd Blanche as AG. Per spokesperson Natalie Yezbick: pic.twitter.com/NXIWV4fNBz
— Gabby Birenbaum (@birenbomb) August 3, 2026
As of Monday morning, neither Tillis nor his team had commented on Blanche’s announcement.
The announcement came a day after the president angrily threatened to fully revive the fund if Cornyn and Tillis ultimately voted against Blanche.
“If Senators Cornyn and Tillis … aren’t going to approve Todd Blanche … to be the United States Attorney General, then I will keep Todd as Acting A.G., and push hard to get the Anti-Weaponization Bill, which takes care of those who have been so badly treated by the Crooked Joe Biden (and Obuma!) Administration (I get nothing, although I was treated horribly!), PASSED,” he wrote on Truth Social.
According to the Associated Press, the memo published by Blanche on Sunday also limited the scope of a provision within the settlement that would have granted the president and his family members immunity from tax audits.
“The deal clarifies that the tax audit immunity agreement ‘applies by its terms only retroactively’ to claims open at the time of the settlement and does not protect the president from examination of future tax filings,” the AP reported.
This, too, had been a stickler for Cornyn, a “RINO Republican,” according to many critics, who was effectively voted out of office during his primary election after Trump endorsed his opponent, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.
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