{"id":332,"date":"2026-06-17T06:09:29","date_gmt":"2026-06-17T06:09:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/americanindustryreview.com\/?p=332"},"modified":"2026-06-17T06:09:29","modified_gmt":"2026-06-17T06:09:29","slug":"senate-clashes-over-fate-of-anti-weaponization-fund","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/americanindustryreview.com\/?p=332","title":{"rendered":"Senate clashes over fate of \u2018anti-weaponization\u2019 fund"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Senate Democrats sought to pass legislation to abolish the White House\u2019s supposedly defunct \u201canti-weaponization\u201d fund Tuesday, in a floor move blocked by Sen. Bill Hagerty, R-Tenn.<\/p>\n

Read more Robert White wins Democratic primary for DC delegate<\/a><\/p>\n

Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer, D-N.Y., attempted to pass via unanimous consent the measure to stop the $1.8 billion fund from the Department of Justice and nullify the IRS\u2019 ban on auditing the tax returns of President Donald Trump and his family.<\/p>\n

The fund was created as part of a settlement in a lawsuit Trump brought against his own administration over the leak of his tax returns during his first term, and it has become increasingly caught in the crossfire on Capitol Hill since its announcement nearly a month ago.<\/p>\n

Schumer said that Trump\u2019s own statements about the fund show he intends to move forward with it, despite statements from Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche that the fund is not moving forward.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s going to do it unless we stop it,\u201d Schumer said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI invite Republicans to prove Trump wrong. Support this bill, outlaw this corruption, say it is a terrible idea on the floor so we can eliminate it permanently once and for all,\u201d Schumer said.<\/p>\n

Hagerty\u2019s objection to unanimous consent is enough to block the move. Hagerty said Trump has \u201cmade clear\u201d he won\u2019t \u201cseek any compensation\u201d from the fund. \u201cWhy is that not enough for my colleagues across the aisle,\u201d Hagerty asked from the floor.<\/p>\n

Hagerty also noted that Blanche told a House committee the administration was \u201cnot moving forward with the fund. Period.\u201d<\/p>\n

In one of the lawsuits challenging the fund, the judge noted that Blanche\u2019s statements to Congress were not under oath, and that Trump himself has said he would like the fund to move forward despite an initial ruling from a federal judge pausing its creation.<\/p>\n

Judge Leonie Brinkema of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia has blocked the administration from moving forward with the fund and given the Justice Department until Friday to enter a binding statement from both Blanche and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent formally saying the fund would never go forward.<\/p>\n

If that statement was entered, Brinkema said she may dismiss the lawsuit.<\/p>\n

On Tuesday, Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., said he is not satisfied with the administration\u2019s statements that it had abandoned the fund, and the uncertainty could hold up his support for Blanche\u2019s nomination to lead the Justice Department as attorney general.<\/p>\n

Read more Trump\u2019s picks win Senate runoffs in Georgia and Alabama<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cIt will be an issue if the weaponization fund isn\u2019t effectively dead by the confirmation hearing, because I\u2019ve still got a real problem with it being out there,\u201d Tillis said.<\/p>\n

The fund has caused bipartisan consternation on Capitol Hill. It delayed consideration of the recent reconciliation law in the Senate and several Republicans have said they want it gone outright.<\/p>\n

Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., signed onto a brief in the challenge to the fund calling it \u201can immediate and dire threat\u201d to the constitutional order and Congress. Last week he said he may back legislation to ban it.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019d like to see the specific legislation, but I don\u2019t like the fund,\u201d Cassidy said.<\/p>\n

The Louisiana Republican also tried during votes on a reconciliation measure to get an amendment that would bar the fund and repurpose it for law enforcement injured by the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol.<\/p>\n

While that effort failed to garner a simple majority needed to add it to the measure, several of his fellow Republicans supported the effort.<\/p>\n

On the House side, Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pa., and Tom Suozzi, D-N.Y., introduced their own bill to ban the fund and have sponsored a discharge petition to force a floor vote.<\/p>\n

Fitzpatrick said although he viewed the ongoing legal challenges as an immediate solution, he still wanted to ban the fund permanently.<\/p>\n

Read more \u2018Time\u2019s a-ticking\u2019 on highway bill, senators acknowledge<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Senate Democrats sought to pass legislation to abolish the White House\u2019s supposedly defunct \u201canti-weaponization\u201d fund Tuesday, in a floor move blocked by Sen. Bill Hagerty, R-Tenn. Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer, D-N.Y., attempted to pass via unanimous consent the measure to stop the $1.8 billion fund from the Department of Justice and nullify the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":331,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-332","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-congress"],"yoast_head":"\nSenate clashes over fate of \u2018anti-weaponization\u2019 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=332\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Senate clashes over fate of \u2018anti-weaponization\u2019 fund - American Industry Review\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Senate Democrats sought to pass legislation to abolish the White House\u2019s supposedly defunct \u201canti-weaponization\u201d fund Tuesday, in a floor move blocked by Sen. Bill Hagerty, R-Tenn. Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer, D-N.Y., attempted to pass via unanimous consent the measure to stop the $1.8 billion fund from the Department of Justice and nullify the […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/americanindustryreview.com\/?p=332\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"American Industry Review\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-06-17T06:09:29+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/americanindustryreview.com\\\/?p=332#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/americanindustryreview.com\\\/?p=332\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/americanindustryreview.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/f31b66192ea99275704b1c4c1195d2bd\"},\"headline\":\"Senate clashes over fate of \u2018anti-weaponization\u2019 fund\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-17T06:09:29+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/americanindustryreview.com\\\/?p=332\"},\"wordCount\":680,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/americanindustryreview.com\\\/?p=332#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/americanindustryreview.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/074be02a656d917661ead9300e37889c.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Congress\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/americanindustryreview.com\\\/?p=332#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/americanindustryreview.com\\\/?p=332\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/americanindustryreview.com\\\/?p=332\",\"name\":\"Senate clashes over fate of \u2018anti-weaponization\u2019 fund - American Industry Review\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/americanindustryreview.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/americanindustryreview.com\\\/?p=332#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/americanindustryreview.com\\\/?p=332#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/americanindustryreview.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/074be02a656d917661ead9300e37889c.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-17T06:09:29+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/americanindustryreview.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/f31b66192ea99275704b1c4c1195d2bd\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/americanindustryreview.com\\\/?p=332#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/americanindustryreview.com\\\/?p=332\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/americanindustryreview.com\\\/?p=332#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/americanindustryreview.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/074be02a656d917661ead9300e37889c.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/americanindustryreview.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/074be02a656d917661ead9300e37889c.jpg\",\"width\":1620,\"height\":1080,\"caption\":\"UNITED STATES - JUNE 16: Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., arrives for the Senate Democrats\u2019 lunch meeting in the U.S. Capitol on Tuesday, June 16, 2026. (Bill Clark\\\/CQ Roll Call)\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/americanindustryreview.com\\\/?p=332#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/americanindustryreview.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Senate clashes over fate of \u2018anti-weaponization\u2019 fund\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/americanindustryreview.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/americanindustryreview.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"American Industry Review\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/americanindustryreview.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/americanindustryreview.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/f31b66192ea99275704b1c4c1195d2bd\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/americanindustryreview.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/americanindustryreview.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Senate clashes over fate of \u2018anti-weaponization\u2019 fund - American Industry Review","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/americanindustryreview.com\/?p=332","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Senate clashes over fate of \u2018anti-weaponization\u2019 fund - American Industry Review","og_description":"Senate Democrats sought to pass legislation to abolish the White House\u2019s supposedly defunct \u201canti-weaponization\u201d fund Tuesday, in a floor move blocked by Sen. Bill Hagerty, R-Tenn. Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer, D-N.Y., attempted to pass via unanimous consent the measure to stop the $1.8 billion fund from the Department of Justice and nullify the […]","og_url":"https:\/\/americanindustryreview.com\/?p=332","og_site_name":"American Industry Review","article_published_time":"2026-06-17T06:09:29+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/americanindustryreview.com\/?p=332#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/americanindustryreview.com\/?p=332"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/americanindustryreview.com\/#\/schema\/person\/f31b66192ea99275704b1c4c1195d2bd"},"headline":"Senate clashes over fate of \u2018anti-weaponization\u2019 fund","datePublished":"2026-06-17T06:09:29+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/americanindustryreview.com\/?p=332"},"wordCount":680,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/americanindustryreview.com\/?p=332#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/americanindustryreview.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/074be02a656d917661ead9300e37889c.jpg","articleSection":["Congress"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/americanindustryreview.com\/?p=332#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/americanindustryreview.com\/?p=332","url":"https:\/\/americanindustryreview.com\/?p=332","name":"Senate clashes over fate of \u2018anti-weaponization\u2019 fund - American Industry Review","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/americanindustryreview.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/americanindustryreview.com\/?p=332#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/americanindustryreview.com\/?p=332#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/americanindustryreview.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/074be02a656d917661ead9300e37889c.jpg","datePublished":"2026-06-17T06:09:29+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/americanindustryreview.com\/#\/schema\/person\/f31b66192ea99275704b1c4c1195d2bd"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/americanindustryreview.com\/?p=332#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/americanindustryreview.com\/?p=332"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/americanindustryreview.com\/?p=332#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/americanindustryreview.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/074be02a656d917661ead9300e37889c.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/americanindustryreview.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/074be02a656d917661ead9300e37889c.jpg","width":1620,"height":1080,"caption":"UNITED STATES - JUNE 16: Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., arrives for the Senate Democrats\u2019 lunch meeting in the U.S. Capitol on Tuesday, June 16, 2026. (Bill Clark\/CQ Roll Call)"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/americanindustryreview.com\/?p=332#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/americanindustryreview.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Senate clashes over fate of \u2018anti-weaponization\u2019 fund"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/americanindustryreview.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/americanindustryreview.com\/","name":"American Industry Review","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/americanindustryreview.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/americanindustryreview.com\/#\/schema\/person\/f31b66192ea99275704b1c4c1195d2bd","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/americanindustryreview.com"],"url":"https:\/\/americanindustryreview.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/americanindustryreview.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/332","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/americanindustryreview.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/americanindustryreview.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/americanindustryreview.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/americanindustryreview.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=332"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/americanindustryreview.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/332\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/americanindustryreview.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/331"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/americanindustryreview.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=332"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/americanindustryreview.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=332"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/americanindustryreview.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=332"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}