A federal judge on Friday extended a court-ordered block on the Trump administration’s $1.8 billion “Anti-Weaponization Fund,” rejecting the government’s argument that the legal challenge is now moot and giving the parties a week to negotiate a sworn declaration that the fund will not be revived.
U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema ruled that the fund will remain blocked until further notice from the court. Brinkema had previously issued a temporary block on May 29 that was set to expire on Friday. She gave the parties one week to reach an agreement for acting Attorney General Todd Blanche to submit a sworn declaration that the administration will not revive the fund.
Earlier this month, Blanche told Congress that the government is scrapping its plans for the fund in the face of a fierce bipartisan backlash. Government attorneys have argued that lawsuits challenging the fund are now moot. But plaintiffs’ attorneys said they are not satisfied by Blanche’s assurances that the fund will not move forward, according to the court filing.
President Donald Trump, meanwhile, has not publicly and unequivocally endorsed the fund’s cancellation, Brinkema noted.
The Trump administration created the fund to resolve Trump’s lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service over the leak of his tax returns. Plaintiffs who sued to block fund payouts argue that the government cannot legally divert taxpayer money into what they describe as a slush fund for compensating Trump’s allies.