Will the rescinded billion-dollar settlement fund quietly resurface under the Justice Department's new leadership?

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Yes, the possibility remains, though it is weaker than before. Todd Blanche formally rescinded the Justice Department order creating the $1.776 billion “Anti-Weaponization Fund,” writing that “there is no Fund,” and that step was central to winning enough Senate support for his confirmation. But critics noted that the rescission did not itself rewrite the underlying Trump v. IRS settlement, which had originally promised the fund. On that basis, some legal analysts argued the fund could theoretically be revived later through new executive action or litigation seeking to enforce the settlement. That risk, however, has been sharply reduced by a later federal court ruling. U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams said the Trump-IRS lawsuit had been filed for an improper purpose and voided the settlement arrangement that had paired audit protections with the proposed fund. Her ruling also barred the parties from relying on that settlement in future proceedings. That undercuts the main legal vehicle through which the fund could have resurfaced. Even so, the issue is not entirely closed politically or administratively. President Trump had publicly defended the fund, and some lawmakers had warned that once Blanche was confirmed, Senate leverage would diminish. In practice, though, any quiet revival now would face major obstacles: a formal DOJ rescission, intense public scrutiny, pending legal challenges, and a court ruling attacking the settlement’s legitimacy. So the answer is that th…

Todd Blanche Wins 50-49 as Attorney General After Shelving $1.8 Billion Fund

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Todd Blanche Wins 50-49 as Attorney General After Shelving $1.8 Billion Fund

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