A federal judge has temporarily blocked the Trump administration from making payments through its $1.776 billion "anti-weaponization fund."
Concretely, U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkeman of Virginia is also preventing the government from officially creating the fund while litigation to challenge it continues.
Brinkeman has also scheduled a hearing for June 12 to hear arguments on whether to extend the order. The White House declined to comment to AP and referred questions to the Justice Department.
The fund in question, announced by the Justice Department earlier this month, would have the power to issue formal apologies and provide monetary relief to approved claimants. The DOJ said there are "no partisan requirements" to apply and that any unspent money will return to the federal government when the fund stops processing claims by Dec. 1, 2028.
But the first wave of public interest has come from Trump supporters, Jan. 6 defendants and longtime allies who say prosecutions, investigations or public scrutiny damaged their lives and finances.
The program has triggered immediate legal and political backlash. Harry Dunn, a retired U.S. Capitol Police officer, and Daniel Hodges, a Metropolitan Police officer, sued to block the fund, alleging it would reward people who attacked the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. Their lawsuit called it a "taxpayer-funded slush fund" and accused Trump of using federal money to finance political allies.
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche told lawmakers he would not commit to barring payouts to people who assaulted police on Jan. 6.
The fund also drew criticism from Democrats and watchdog groups, who described it as an extraordinary use of taxpayer money to benefit Trump allies. Rep. Jamie Raskin, the top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, called the arrangement a "slush fund" for Trump loyalists.
Some Republicans have criticized the fund too. Sen. Thom Tillis called it a "payout pot for punks."
"These people don't deserve restitution; they- many of them deserve to be in prison," Tillis said following reports that January 6 defendants and Trump allies are already lining up to seek compensation from the fund.
Tillis, who is not seeking reelection and has criticized Trump on different issues, went on to call on Republican colleagues who oppose the measures to speak up, saying "this is not good for my colleagues."
Senate Majority Leader John Thune said Trump officials "need to help with this issue, because we have a lot of members who are concerned, obviously, about the timing, but also about the substance."
Sen. Bill Cassidy, who recently lost his primary and has since broken with his fellow Republicans in a war powers resolution vote, said he thinks "the administration is putting itself in a bad spot."
