ALEXANDRIA, September 18 — A federal judge has extended an order blocking the Trump administration’s proposed $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization fund,” keeping the injunction in place indefinitely after expressing deep skepticism over Justice Department assertions that the controversial initiative is dead. U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema issued the ruling during a court hearing in Virginia, where the Justice Department argued that plaintiffs lack a legal basis to challenge the initiative because the fund “has never existed and will not exist.” Brinkema was not swayed by that argument, according to court proceedings.
The fund’s origins trace to a structured settlement in a lawsuit President Donald Trump brought against the Internal Revenue Service regarding leaked tax returns. As part of that deal, acting Attorney General Todd Blanche signed a clause permanently barring the IRS from examining past tax filings of Trump, his family, and his businesses.
The fund, valued at approximately $1.776 billion, was intended to provide taxpayer-funded compensation to individuals claiming they were targeted by government “weaponization,” sparking intense bipartisan pushback over concerns that payouts would go to participants of the January 6, 2021, Capitol attack.
The Court’s Skepticism
Pooja Boisture, an attorney representing the watchdog group Democracy Forward, told the court that the administration is highly likely to revive the payouts—”either in its current iteration or a new one”—if judicial restrictions are lifted. Judge Brinkema previously offered to drop the lawsuit if administration officials submitted a sworn declaration, signed under penalty of perjury, confirming the program would not proceed under any name.
The Department of Justice refused to provide that declaration, citing separation of powers concerns and stating that the court should rely on verbal representations and congressional testimonies instead. Because the administration continues to refuse a formal, written termination, multiple federal judges have continued to allow legal challenges to move forward.
What Comes Next
The case remains before Judge Brinkema in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia. The core dispute centers on whether the administration’s verbal assurances are sufficient to moot the legal challenge, or whether the fund’s statutory and settlement framework remains a live controversy subject to judicial review. The injunction will remain in effect while the litigation proceeds.
