WASHINGTON — On Friday, July 31, 2026, President Donald Trump defended his administration’s proposal for a $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization fund” intended to support Jan. 6 defendants and others he claims were unfairly targeted by the government. This proposal has faced strong opposition from key Republicans and has complicated the nomination of Todd Blanche to be the nation’s chief law enforcement official.

The fund’s controversy delayed for several weeks and nearly derailed a $70 billion funding bill for Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Border Patrol through the end of Trump’s term. Senators John Cornyn of Texas and Thom Tillis of North Carolina have blocked Blanche’s nomination due to concerns about the settlement between Trump and the IRS that created the fund.

Earlier on Friday, Trump posted on Truth Social, accusing Cornyn of obstructing Blanche’s nomination because Trump had endorsed Cornyn’s primary challenger, Ken Paxton, who defeated Cornyn in May. Trump wrote that Cornyn had no problem with the fund until Trump supported Paxton, adding that Cornyn had previously criticized the FBI’s 2022 raid on Mar-a-Lago.

According to a source familiar with the matter, Tillis and Cornyn met with Blanche on Thursday afternoon for about 45 minutes. Both senators have stated that the settlement deal should be narrowed.

Sources