U.S. President Donald Trump speaks at a Cabinet meeting in the Cabinet Room of the White House in Washington, DC, on May 27, 2026.
Evan Vucci | Reuters
A U.S. judge on Friday temporarily blocked President Donald Trump’s administration from establishing a nearly $1.8 billion fund to compensate victims of what Trump called the “weaponization” of government.
The order by U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema in the Eastern District of Virginia blocks the Trump administration from “taking any further action” to establish or administer the fund while the justices hear additional legal arguments. The order will remain in effect until at least June 12th.
Last week, the Justice Department announced the creation of an Anti-Weaponization Fund as part of a settlement agreement in President Trump’s lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service over leaked tax records.
It established a $1.776 billion fund overseen by a five-member commission to pay people who prove they are victims of “legal conduct” and “use of arms,” the terms used by President Trump and his allies to describe investigations and criminal proceedings against them.
Friday’s ruling came in a lawsuit filed by the group, which claims it has been targeted “by the Trump-Vance administration as an ideological or political adversary” and is not eligible to receive payments from the fund.
“This is a victory for transparency, the rule of law, and the American people,” said Skye Perryman, president of the anti-Trump group Democracy Forward, which filed the lawsuit. “No government has the authority to spend public money through political reward programs.”
A Justice Department spokesperson said the department “remains extremely confident” in the legality of the fund. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said there are no partisan requirements regarding eligibility for compensation.
“We will not allow a judge’s policy preferences to impede our efforts to provide reparations to victims of wrongdoing,” a Justice Department spokesperson said.
The fund sparked a backlash, including from some members of President Trump’s Republican Party who expressed anger that some of the people who stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, could receive taxpayer funding. It was widely derided as a “slush fund” to reward President Trump’s political allies.
Democracy Forward’s lawsuit is one of at least three lawsuits challenging the creation of the fund.
Before considering the plaintiffs’ request for a temporary restraining order against the fund, Brinkema said the temporary order was necessary to maintain the status quo and prevent the funds from being “irreversibly expended.”
The group suing includes former Justice Department prosecutors who prosecuted the Jan. 6 rioters and a California professor arrested for protesting immigration raids.
The decision came after the plaintiffs said government lawyers assured them no money had been transferred to the fund but refused to notify them more than 24 hours before the transfer. The group said this was “clearly insufficient” and the fund could begin operating before the courts decide whether it is legal.
The ministry has not yet named the five commissioners that Blanche plans to appoint. The Justice Department said it plans to transfer the money to the fund within 60 days of the May 18 announcement.
