{"id":117,"date":"2026-05-29T21:50:34","date_gmt":"2026-05-29T21:50:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/americanindustryreview.com\/?p=117"},"modified":"2026-05-29T21:50:34","modified_gmt":"2026-05-29T21:50:34","slug":"judge-temporarily-halts-doj-anti-weaponization-fund","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/americanindustryreview.com\/?p=117","title":{"rendered":"Judge temporarily halts DOJ ‘anti-weaponization fund’"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

A federal judge in Virginia on Friday temporarily blocked the Trump administration from proceeding with the $1.8 billion \u201canti-weaponization fund\u201d created by the Justice Department last week.<\/p>\n

Read more Florida\u2019s Frederica Wilson announces retirement<\/a><\/p>\n

The from Judge Leonie M. Brinkema of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia directed the administration not to take any steps to implement the fund while a request for a longer-term block from several individuals and advocacy groups is pending.<\/p>\n

Brinkema also set a hearing on the legality of the fund for June 12. The fast-moving litigation comes as the creation of the fund played a role in derailing Senate votes on a reconciliation bill before this week\u2019s congressional recess.<\/p>\n

The order said the pause would \u201censure that no funds are irreversibly disbursed\u201d from the fund while the challenge is pending.<\/p>\n

And the order told the Trump administration to stop \u201cany further action pursuant to the creation or operation of the Anti-Weaponization Fund, which includes the transferring of money to the Fund; the consideration of any claims submitted to the Fund; and the disbursing of any funds from the Fund.\u201d<\/p>\n

Brinkema\u2019s order noted that the Trump administration had not committed to not transferring any funds until at least June 19. <\/p>\n

The Justice Department announced the creation of the fund as part of settling a $10 billion lawsuit Trump brought against his own government, alleging violations of federal law for releases of his tax return information in his first term.<\/p>\n

Read more Judge declines to block parts of Trump mail voting order, for now<\/a><\/p>\n

The administration announced the settlement days before a deadline the judge in the case set to address her concerns about Trump suing his own administration.<\/p>\n

As part of the settlement, the DOJ would create the fund for victims of \u201cweaponization\u201d of \u201cDemocrat\u201d administrations and create a board to administer the fund where Trump had the ability to remove all its members.<\/p>\n

Bipartisan concerns about the creation of the fund helped sink planned votes on a reconciliation bill last week in the Senate as multiple Democrats announced plans to force votes on amendments related to the fund.<\/p>\n

The that spawned Friday\u2019s order, brought by several individuals along with Common Cause, the National Abortion Federation and the city of New Haven, Conn., argued that the creation of the fund violated federal law and the Constitution.<\/p>\n

The complaint argued that the focus on alleged \u201cweaponization\u201d by Democratic officials violated the Constitution and would reward the president\u2019s political allies. The complaint also contends that the fund violates the Constitution because it \u201cis available only to claimants who assert that they were targeted by \u2018Democrat\u2019 administrations.\u201d<\/p>\n

There are several other lawsuits pending against the fund, including ones from former Capitol Police officers and Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington which are still pending.<\/p>\n

Read more Geothermal energy package coming to House floor<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A federal judge in Virginia on Friday temporarily blocked the Trump administration from proceeding with the $1.8 billion \u201canti-weaponization fund\u201d created by the Justice Department last week. The two-page order from Judge Leonie M. Brinkema of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia directed the administration not to take any steps to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":116,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-117","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-policy"],"yoast_head":"\nJudge temporarily halts DOJ ‘anti-weaponization fund’ - American Industry Review<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/americanindustryreview.com\/?p=117\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Judge temporarily halts DOJ ‘anti-weaponization fund’ - American Industry Review\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A federal judge in Virginia on Friday temporarily blocked the Trump administration from proceeding with the $1.8 billion \u201canti-weaponization fund\u201d created by the Justice Department last week. 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