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Former Vice President Mike Pence went on Meet the Press and told the White House what a lot of Americans quietly think: the Justice Department’s new Anti-Weaponization Fund is a bad idea and should be dropped. Pence called the $1.776 billion program “deeply offensive,” especially because it could — at least on paper — pay people who took part in violent actions like assaulting police or vandalizing the Capitol on Jan. 6. That blunt rebuke from a prominent Republican should make the administration sit up and take notice.
What is the Anti-Weaponization Fund?
The Justice Department says the fund was created as part of a settlement over an IRS lawsuit tied to President Donald J. Trump. The program is being called the Anti-Weaponization Fund and is set at roughly $1.8 billion. DOJ says the money will come from the Judgment Fund and that the program can offer formal apologies and monetary relief to people who claim they were targeted by government “weaponization” or “lawfare.” The fund is supposed to stop taking new claims by December 1, 2028, and the Justice Department says it will send quarterly reports to the Attorney General. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche framed it as a way to give Americans a lawful process to seek redress.
Pence Breaks With the Administration — and He’s Right to Worry
There’s nothing ordinary about a former vice president publicly urging the president to abandon a Justice Department initiative. Pence called the fund “a bad idea from the start” and said it was “deeply offensive” to imagine taxpayers writing checks that could even possibly reach people who attacked law enforcement on Jan. 6. Conservatives who want civil liberties defended should be alarmed by the optics and the potential outcomes. If the fund’s rules are loose enough to invite payouts to violent wrongdoers, then whoever signed off on it missed a basic reality test — or ignored it for politics.
Already Tied Up in Court
Predictably, the program did not slide into place without resistance. Lawsuits were filed almost immediately, claiming the fund is politically biased and unlawfully designed to help one set of people over another. Plaintiffs include a variety of figures who argue the program’s eligibility rules are discriminatory. Legal scholars also note the Justice Department’s comparison to past settlements is a stretch, and judges will want to see clearer rules before the federal government starts cutting large checks. In short: the fund is already tied up in litigation, and that’s probably for the best until officials fix the glaring holes.
President Trump and the Justice Department need to heed Pence’s warning — not because it will keep the commentariat happy, but because it will keep the party and the country out of needless embarrassment and legal peril. If the goal is to restore trust in institutions, the last thing anyone should do is create a program that looks like a reward system for chaos. Kill the fund, or at minimum tighten the rules so it protects only genuine victims of government abuse. Sensible Republicans and sensible taxpayers deserve nothing less.
