Judge blocks Trump's $1.8B program that critics call a 'slush fund'
WASHINGTON – A federal judge temporarily blocked President Donald Trump from setting up a $1.8 billion fund to compensate people the Justice Department deems were investigated improperly.
U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema in Virginia ordered the Trump administration not to take further action creating or operating "the Anti-Weaponization Fund, which includes the transferring of money to the Fund," the consideration of any claims or the disbursing of funds while the case is litigated. She set a hearing June 12.
The Justice Department created the fund as part of the settlement of a lawsuit Trump and his family filed against the Internal Revenue Service after their tax returns were leaked. Democrats and some public-interest groups have blasted the proposed program as a slush fund to reward the president's political supporters.
The White House and Justice Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Fund created after Trump's $10B lawsuit against IRS
The Justice Department announced May 18 it was offering $1.776 billion to "victims of lawfare and weaponization" as part of a settlement of a $10 billion lawsuit filed by Trump and his family against the IRS.
Part of the criticism of the fund is that it could benefit people who were convicted of or charged with attacking the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, and who were later pardoned by Trump.
Trump has said a five-person committee overseen by Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche would determine how to distribute the money.
Opponents deride 'slush fund' for Trump allies
But congressional Democrats have argued the fund is unconstitutional because lawmakers traditionally determine how to spend federal funds. Other opponents of the fund, including those who filed the lawsuit, said it would be a "slush fund" for Trump to reward his political allies.
The lawsuit was filed by Andrew Floyd, a former assistant U.S. attorney in Virginia; Jonathan Caravello, a professor at California State University Channel Islands; the city of New Haven, Connecticut; and the advocacy groups Common Cause and the National Abortion Federation.
Caravello was arrested during a protest against the administration's immigration enforcement actions. Floyd prosecuted cases against people who attacked the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, and was fired by the Trump administration. New Haven was targeted by administration lawsuits and funding disputes. But the lawsuit argues the plaintiffs can't ask the fund for compensation "or even an apology."
"The Department of Justice and the Department of Treasury have created a $1.776 billion slush fund – from taxpayer dollars – to dispense payment to those the Trump-Vance administration favors," the lawsuit said. "Since its inception, this fund has been on a collision course with the United States Constitution."
Skye Perryman, CEO of Democracy Forward, which is representing the people suing the Justice Department, said no administration has the authority to spend public money on through a political rewards program that Congress never approved.
Brinkema "recognized the urgent need to prevent taxpayer dollars from being distributed through a secretive and unprecedented political compensation scheme before the legality of that program can be fully reviewed by the court," Perryman said in a statement.
Derek Muller, a professor at Notre Dame Law School, said on social media there are "major" issues about whether the plaintiffs will be allowed to sue. But he said the hearing schedule will give both sides time to present full written arguments for Brinkema to consider before the government can take any irreversible steps to create the fund or distribute funds.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Judge blocks Trump's $1.8B program that critics call a 'slush fund'
Reporting by Bart Jansen, USA TODAY / USA TODAY
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This story was originally published May 29, 2026 at 7:51 AM.