Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche made his first appearance before a congressional panel to ask for funds to run the Justice Department, which is something he had not previously had to do. And while it’s completely routine for cabinet secretaries to make budget requests in front of Congress, it seems that Blanche didn’t need to ask lawmakers for the most controversial batch of federal funds in years.
Why? Because, somehow, the money he needed had already been approved. The DOJ made an announcement concerning the creation of a billion-dollar compensation fund to pay individuals who the GOP says are victims of government weaponization. However, at this point, it’s not been made clear who will receive the money in the fund. Murkier still is how the fund came into existence.
Reports say that President Donald Trump sued his own Internal Revenue Service for publicly leaking his tax returns, along with those belonging to several hundred other Americans. Then, the Department of Justice announced that President Trump basically settled the lawsuit with him. “Per the settlement, plaintiffs will receive a formal apology but no monetary payment or damages of any kind,” the DOJ statement said.
According to a report from Fox News, the statement also said, “They have agreed, in exchange for the creation of this fund, to drop their pending lawsuit with prejudice, and also withdraw two administrative claims, including for damages resulting from the unlawful raid of Mar-a-Lago and the Russia-collusion hoax.”
Oddly, the fund is estimated to be worth $1.776 billion, which happens to be the year 1776, which was when the colonies declared independence from Great Britain. Given this is the 250th anniversary of that monumental event in human history, many don’t believe the figure is a coincidence. While the president himself is not allowed to receive any of the cash in the fund, his allies and donors can, no congressional input required.
“I realize it’s a lot of money,” said Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA). “I want to understand where the money comes from. Do we find it in the budget? Do we have to borrow it? There’s just a lot of unanswered questions.” Sen. Jerry Moran (R-KS) said, “What I want to know is how the fund is created, what its purpose is. And the legality of creating a fund that Congress hasn’t had anything to say about.”
Sen. Bill Hagerty (R-TX), who is one of the individuals who had his phone records pulled by the government without his knowledge or consent following the January 6, 2021 riot at the Capitol, defended the fund. “What we ought to be talking about is the reasons for the compensation. Weaponization of government that took place under former President Joe Biden was an absolute disgrace,” he said.
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Blanche once served as personal legal counsel for the president. Congressional lawmakers are making the case that he reverted to that role when he created the compensation fund seemingly out of thin air. “Mr. Attorney General, you are acting today like the president’s personal attorney. And that’s the whole problem,” Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) said to Blanche.
“You’re a very gifted lawyer. But from my perspective, you have very little faith to the Constitution and the people of America. And you’re the president’s consigliere,” Sen. Jack Reed (D-RI) added. Many also questioned who qualifies to receive money from the fund. “Will individuals who assaulted Capitol Hill police officers be eligible for this fund?” Van Hollen asked.
Blanche replied, “Anybody in this country is eligible to apply if they believe they are a victim of weaponization.” His answer is what raised concerns for supposed bipartisan lawmakers. Congressional Republicans were attempting to pass legislation that would finally provide funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Border Patrol and they planned to do so through a workaround that would bypass a Democratic filibuster using a process called budget reconciliation.
The GOP was worried that Democrats would force them to take controversial votes on the fund. Many Republicans were already planning to draft amendments to curb the fund in order to protect themselves from any blowback. It all proved to be too much for Senate Republicans. Blanche was summoned to Capitol Hill to provide an explanation about the fund.
Things did not go well. A number of GOP senators including Sens. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and Tom Cotton (R-AR) delivered a series of pointed remarks to Blanche during the hearing. North Carolina Republican Sen. Thom Tillis was overheard saying, “And I’m not voting for it!” By that same afternoon, GOP leadership tossed the bill to fund ICE and Border Patrol, sending everyone home for the Memorial Day break.
“I just don’t know how this puppy dog will work,” Kennedy went on to say about the fund. “I think there were six or seven people who are going to vote no.” Senate Majority Leader John Thune said, “The sole reason we are here today is because Democrats refused to fund law enforcement at the Department of Homeland Security.”
Thune later stated that the compensation fund “makes everything way harder than it should be,” before declaring the administration should have “consulted” with Congressional Republicans about the fund ahead of time. To sum up what it means, President Trump may now have to wait until he has more of his picks in Congress before he is able to push through some of these critical policies.