A federal judge temporarily blocked the Trump administration on Friday from proceeding with a $1.776 billion settlement fund for President Donald Trump’s political allies, halting any payouts for at least two weeks.
U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema in Alexandria, Virginia, issued the temporary restraining order and scheduled a June 12 hearing to consider a longer-term injunction against the fund while litigation challenging it is pending.
The fund, dubbed the “Anti-Weaponization Fund,” was created by the Justice Department to resolve Trump’s lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service over the leak of his tax returns. The administration broadened the settlement to cover claims from other individuals who alleged they were targeted by a weaponized government under previous administrations.
Critics, including Democratic lawmakers and a group of U.S. Capitol Police officers, have filed lawsuits seeking to block the fund. They argue it would misuse taxpayer money to reward Trump’s political allies, potentially including individuals convicted in the January 6, 2021 Capitol attack.
The fund, announced in mid-May, drew immediate scrutiny from congressional Democrats who called it a “slush fund” and from law enforcement groups who said it could effectively pay rioters who assaulted officers. The Justice Department has not specified how many people might receive payouts or how much individual claimants could receive.
The temporary restraining order prohibits the Department of Justice from forming the fund or distributing any money while the court considers the legal challenges. Brinkema’s order marks the first time a court has intervened to block the program.