Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche on Thursday confronted a growing wave of Republican discontent after signing off on the creation of a nearly $1.8 billion fund to compensate Trump allies who allege they were unfairly targeted by federal law enforcement. The move — which could ultimately channel taxpayer money to defendants involved in the January 6, 2021, Capitol riot — has unsettled GOP lawmakers and complicated Blanche’s bid to be nominated permanently for the Justice Department post.
The fund has become the most visible flashpoint in a tenure already marked by aggressive steps that critics say blur the line between the nation’s chief law enforcement officer and a personal loyalty enforcer for the president. Justice Department officials under Blanche have simultaneously brought criminal charges against former FBI Director James Comey, a longtime Trump antagonist, and defended the administration’s right to compensate allies for what it calls “political weaponization” of the legal system.
Republican senators, whose votes Blanche would need for confirmation, have voiced unease in private and public. One aide to a senior GOP lawmaker described the fund as “a bridge too far” in a party that has largely deferred to Trump’s policy priorities. The discontent echoes a larger rift that has already delayed an immigration enforcement bill tied to the same spending vehicle.
Blanche, who represented Trump during the New York hush-money trial that led to the president’s conviction before becoming acting attorney general last month, has insisted he is not campaigning for the permanent job. “I’m not auditioning,” Blanche told reporters earlier this week, according to a person familiar with the exchange. But the sequence of decisions under his watch — including the Comey indictment and the compensation fund — has left little doubt, even among allies, about the impression he intends to make on the president.
Democrats have sharpened their criticism. Senator Chris Van Hollen’s office characterized the fund as turning the department into “an instrument of political retribution,” though Blanche’s supporters argue the program is a lawful remedy for alleged past abuses. The fund, officially designated the “Anti-Weaponization Fund,” would be administered by a political appointee inside the department and has no statutory cap beyond the initial $1.8 billion appropriation.
The Associated Press reported that Blanche’s handling of the fund has “put him at the center of a Republican firestorm,” with some GOP members privately warning that it could damage the party’s credibility as a check on executive power. Blanche has not publicly addressed whether he would recuse himself from decisions affecting Trump personally, a question that looms over his potential nomination.