{"id":595,"date":"2026-05-19T20:37:18","date_gmt":"2026-05-19T20:37:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jacksonvillemovingnews.com\/?p=595"},"modified":"2026-05-19T20:37:18","modified_gmt":"2026-05-19T20:37:18","slug":"the-trump-administration-8","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jacksonvillemovingnews.com\/?p=595","title":{"rendered":"The Trump Administration"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche on Tuesday wouldn’t rule out the possibility that people who carried out violence during the Jan. 6, 2021 riot at the U.S. Capitol will be considered for payouts from a new $1.776 billion fund to pay individuals who believe they were targeted politically.<\/p>\n

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Pressed during a Congressional hearing over whether those who assaulted police officers would be eligible for compensation from the \u201cAnti-Weaponization Fund,\u201d Blanche responded that all people can apply if \u201cthey believe they were a victim of weaponization.\u201d The acting attorney general also refused to say whether he would direct those responsible for deciding who receives payments \u2014 a commission whose members he is tasked with appointing \u2014 to restrict funds to those convicted of violence.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat I will commit to is making sure that the commissioners are effectively doing their jobs, and that includes setting guidelines as you\u2019re describing,\u201d Blanche told Sen. Jeff Merkley, an Oregon Democrat. The decisions on payouts will be made a five-member commission appointed by the attorney general.<\/p>\n

Appearing before Congress for the first time since taking the reins of the Justice Department last month, Blanche was peppered with questions about the fund announced on Monday to compensate those who believe they were mistreated by prior administrations’ Justice Department. Blanche said the fund was \u201cunusual\u201d but not unprecedented, adding that those who benefit will not be limited to Republicans or to people who were investigated or prosecuted by the Biden administration. At one point, Blanche said President Joe Biden’s son, Hunter \u2014 who faced gun and tax prosecutions under his father’s administration \u2014 could also apply.<\/p>\n

Blanche defends $1.8 billion fund<\/h2>\n

Tuesday\u2019s hearing was meant to address the Trump administration\u2019s budget request for the Justice Department but quickly delved into other controversies that have escalated concerns about the erosion of the law enforcement agency\u2019s tradition of independence from the White House. Blanche defended the creation of the fund without any acknowledgment that the Trump administration has pursued investigations of Trump’s political opponents, sparking criticism that the department is being weaponized in precisely the same way they allege it was under Biden’s administration to prosecute Trump.<\/p>\n

In the weeks since assuming control of the Justice Department after Pam Bondi’s firing, Blanche has moved aggressively to advance the president\u2019s priorities \u2014 pushing forward cases against Trump\u2019s political foes, cracking down on leaks to media outlets and establishing the new fund to resolve Trump\u2019s $10 billion lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service over the leak of his tax returns.<\/p>\n

Democrats described it as an illegal abuse of power designed to line the pockets of Trump supporters with taxpayer dollars. Sen. Chris Van Hollen, the top Democrat on the Senate appropriations subcommittee holding the hearing, blasted the move as a \u201cpure theft of public funds.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cRewarding individuals who committed crimes is obscene,\u201d the Maryland Democrat said. \u201cEvery American can see through this illegal, corrupt, self-dealing scheme.\u201d<\/p>\n

The fund is in keeping with Trump\u2019s long-running claims that the Justice Department during the Biden administration was weaponized against him, even though then-President Biden himself was investigated during that time and his son was prosecuted. Merrick Garland, who served as attorney general during the Biden administration, has repeatedly denied allegations of politicization and has said his decisions followed facts, the evidence and the law. <\/p>\n

Trump administration has been rewriting the history of Jan. 6<\/h2>\n

The mere possibility that violent rioters at the Capitol could be considered for payouts is consistent with a Trump administration pattern of rewriting the dark history of Jan. 6, a trend that began when the president pardoned and commuted the prison sentences of the participants in the melee and that continued with the Justice Department firing some prosecutors who put them behind bars.<\/p>\n

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Under questioning from Merkley, Blanche said that he \u201cwill definitely encourage the commission\u201d responsible for deciding on the payouts to \u201ctake everything into account.\u201d But when asked whether he believes those convicted of violence should be entitled to compensation, Blanche said: \u201cMy feelings don’t matter.\u201d <\/p>\n

When Merkley suggested that Trump was using the Justice Department to target his political enemies, Blanche replied that this was precisely the sort of \u201cdisgusting\u201d behavior of the Biden administration that the fund was meant to address.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat is completely inappropriate and wrong,’ Merkley said. \u201cThere is no comparison to the absolute fair minded pursuit of justice under the previous administration, and this administration\u2019s pursuit of an enemies list.\u201d<\/p>\n

Questions over the meaning of \u2018weaponization\u2019<\/h2>\n

In announcing the fund Monday, the Trump administration did not name specific individuals who might stand to benefit from it. The money itself would come from the federal judgment fund, which pays out court judgments and compromise settlements of lawsuits against the government.<\/p>\n

Blanche told lawmakers that the Justice Department is committed to \u201cfull transparency\u201d in providing public information about beneficiaries of the new fund.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not limited to Republicans. It\u2019s not limited to Democrats. It\u2019s not limited to January 6th defendants. It\u2019s limited only by the term weaponization,\u201d Blanche said, though the administration has not said how it will define \u201cweaponization.\u201d<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, there were signs of discomfort about the fund even among some Republican members of Congress. Senate Majority Leader John Thune told reporters that he\u2019s \u201cnot a big fan,\u201d adding that he isn\u2019t sure how the administration intends to use it, but doesn’t \u201csee a purpose for that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Thune\u2019s comments come after Louisiana Sen. Bill Cassidy, who lost reelection in a GOP primary on Saturday, called it a \u201cslush fund.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cWe are a nation of laws,\u201d Cassidy said. \u201cYou can\u2019t just make up things.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tPresident Donald Trump on Tuesday defended pardoning violent criminals who attacked the Capitol on Jan. 6 2021. \u201cTheir lives have been ruined.\u201d\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n

____<\/p>\n

Associated Press reporter Mary Clare Jalonick in Washington contributed to this report.<\/em><\/p>\n

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Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche stated that anyone who believes they were politically targeted can apply for the \u201cAnti-Weaponization Fund.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":594,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[110],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-595","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-capitol-riot"],"yoast_head":"\nThe Trump Administration - Jacksonville Moving News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/jacksonvillemovingnews.com\/?p=595\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Trump Administration - Jacksonville Moving News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche stated that anyone who believes they were politically targeted can apply for the \u201cAnti-Weaponization Fund.\u201d\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/jacksonvillemovingnews.com\/?p=595\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Jacksonville Moving News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-05-19T20:37:18+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jacksonvillemovingnews.com\\\/?p=595#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jacksonvillemovingnews.com\\\/?p=595\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jacksonvillemovingnews.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/bd97a0052a7a1d8119a1fd0b85af888b\"},\"headline\":\"The Trump Administration\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-05-19T20:37:18+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jacksonvillemovingnews.com\\\/?p=595\"},\"wordCount\":1016,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jacksonvillemovingnews.com\\\/?p=595#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jacksonvillemovingnews.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/010fbcefcb45d1abc0ea5c97c1d798e8.webp\",\"articleSection\":[\"Capitol Riot\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/jacksonvillemovingnews.com\\\/?p=595#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jacksonvillemovingnews.com\\\/?p=595\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jacksonvillemovingnews.com\\\/?p=595\",\"name\":\"The Trump Administration - 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